ALMERIA – Cabo de Gata-Níjar Natural Park is one of the most ecologically valuable areas of Almería. And thanks to a sporting trend called plogging that spread from Sweden to Spain a few years ago, this area remains just as valuable despite the high visitor numbers.
How do people practice plogging? It´s a movement that combines sport and care for the environment. And is a combination of jogging and cleaning up waste. It originated in 2016 in Sweden where the two activities jogga (jogging in Swedish) and plocka upp (pick up in Swedish) were combined.
Combining sports with care for the environment
As a result of increasing litter, the Swedes decided to clean up the waste while they were running in nature. Plogging combines running and stretching exercises because you always have to bend over. In 2018 this hype spread to other countries. It is estimated that about 20,000 people engage in the sport every day in about 100 countries.
Plogging RRevolution
At the beginning of March, the Spanish news site Efe Verde wrote that in the province of Almería the organisation Plogging RRevolution was founded. Together with ambassadors, they organise plogging events throughout this area in Andalucia. The double RR stands for Recoge (pick up) and Recycla (recycle). And as such, the aim is to make people aware of the environment. Resulting in a combination of caring for the environment when we take care of ourselves. Packed with gloves and garbage bags, participants start every day picking up as much litter as possible during a run.
Influence of the corona pandemic on plogging
The corona pandemic is also having an impact on the environment and has repercussions on plogging. This is evident from the daily amount of face masks that are picked up during a run. Covid-19 has made it impossible for these events to take place in large groups. However, plogging remains popular among the participants. Consequently excercise continues as usual, but more often and in smaller groups.
Also read: World Environment Day
