How ‘plogging’ became the pandemic’s eco-friendly fitness craze
The news that one Canadian litter-picking runner had collected his 5000th discarded face mask last month has highlighted how “plogging” (gathering litter while running) has seen a rise in participants picking up an avalanche of additional rubbish during the pandemic.
But that figure is overshadowed by the plogging efforts of Shropshire-based Helen Morris. “I’m up to 21,500 pieces so far,” reveals Morris, 42, who records her clean-up activities via her Instagram account @tidygirltidywoman.
Morris, a member of the Cleobury Mortimer Running Club, started plogging during the pandemic, combining her routine exercise sessions with an environmental clean-up. “When our group run activities were no longer possible, I ordered some litter grabbers online and me and the kids went on a litter pick. We really enjoyed it, but we were shocked at how much we collected.”
When her children returned to school, Morris, a self-employed events organizer kept up the plogging. “I took photos of what I’d collected and posted them on Instagram. By Christmas I’d gathered up 13,000 items of litter.”
“I was raised not to drop litter, occasionally if I saw some close to a bin, I would pop it in, but other than that I hadn’t really given it much thought,” says Morris. “But since I took up plogging it’s become a life-changing activity. I discovered there were hundreds of other ploggers and I collected so much rubbish that the cheap litter grabbers I used all fell apart under the strain. I had to get a much better one for my birthday.”
Keep Britain Tidy estimates that two million items of litter are dropped on UK streets every day and that the pandemic made matters worse. “In the past 12 months our outdoor spaces and places have mattered to us more than ever before,” explains spokesperson Helen Bingham. “Unfortunately, the amounts of rubbish being discarded and ruining the environment has increased too.”
“There’s no doubt we saw a major increase in litter being discarded during lockdown – especially when restaurants and pubs were closed and people were eating outdoors in public spaces,” adds Bingham, who fears that this summer may see another surge in rubbish left in parks and on beaches as an unwelcome side-effect of people having staycations.
Plogger Helen Morris is also concerned about the long term effects the pandemic will have upon the environment. “PPE masks and gloves are a whole new class of litter that didn’t exist before. I find it so ironic: what’s the point of saving people if we kill the planet?”
“Since I started counting them in September, I have picked up 382 masks which is a lot for the rural area where I live,” adds Morris. “Many people assume the disposable ones are made of paper but they are actually plastic and will take up to 450 years to decompose. What sort of legacy are we leaving for future generations?”
Morris’ efforts are being replicated around the country as people fed-up with the litter and desperate to get fit and improve their mental wellbeing take up plogging. Ultramarathon runner Damian Hall, who recently set a new record time for the 185-mile Wainwright’s Coast to Coast route, made a point of picking up litter along the route. He also led a mini beach clean-up at St Bees prior to starting the run.
In Henley-on-Thames, Sam Akthar 30, and his partner Tasmin Morgan, took up plogging around their local village during Lockdown, spending 30 minutes each session running and collecting rubbish.
“On our first run we filled two bin bags with plastic bottles, food wrappers, face masks and gloves,” says Akthar. “But I absolutely loved it because you’re starting and stopping and bending down to pick up litter, it becomes a bit like interval training, with lots of squats, it’s a great workout.”
Akthar has, like Helen Morris, formed a local community clean-up group and his plogging exploits have now brought neighbours together. “People who live nearby see us running with our gloves and bin-bags and come and join in. It’s been great fun, good exercise plus we’ve met new friends. I’m hoping we can build a national network of ploggers so more people can reap the physical benefits of doing a bit of exercise and a mental boost from cleaning up the local area at the same time.”
Read the full story at https://www.msn.com/en-gb/health/fitness/how-plogging-became-the-pandemics-eco-friendly-fitness-craze/ar-AALNwth