Plogging is the activity of picking up litter while jogging. It began as a group activity in Sweden around 2016 (the name comes from the Swedish word plocka upp, which means "to pick up") and became popular in other countries in 2018 because of growing worry about plastic pollution. As a form of exercise, plogging adds different body movements, such as bending, squatting, and stretching, to the main actions of running, hiking, or walking. About 2,000,000 people plog every day in 100 countries, and some events have had more than 3,000,000 participants.

Similar to plogging, pliking is the act of picking up litter while hiking or biking.

Examples and initiatives

Erik Ahlström began plogging in Stockholm, Sweden, after moving there from the ski resort of Åre. He started the website Plogga to help organize the activity and bring people together to clean up the area.

David Sedaris, an author, combines picking up litter with walking in the Parham, Coldwaltham, and Storrington areas of West Sussex. He walks up to 60,000 steps each day to collect trash. His work helped keep his neighborhood clean, so the local government honored him by naming a waste truck after him. Susan Pyper, the Lord Lieutenant of West Sussex, said, "The sign on this truck is a very fitting way to thank David for his hard work… he is a real local hero."

The Keep America Beautiful organization now encourages plogging among its groups. Some groups already combine exercise with cleanup efforts, like the Trashercize program in Tennessee. In New York, a group called Plogging NYC had about 100 members in 2018, with events in four areas of the city. In 2018, Indianapolis held a Summer of Plogging event organized by the November Project and the local group of Keep America Beautiful.

Ripu Daman Bevli introduced plogging in India and is known as the Plogman of India. He started the Litter Free India movement, which connects the Swachh Bharat and FIT India missions. By March 2021, Bevli had organized more than 500 cleanups in 80 cities. These events involved nearly 10 million people. The Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, has also plogged to support the Swachh Bharat Mission, which aims to clean up India.

Benefits

A study from 2022 showed that plogging and jogging use about the same amount of energy. However, plogging uses a much larger part of that energy from fat compared to jogging.

Gallery

• The amount of trash collected during 1 hour of plogging in Gothenburg, Sweden on July 11, 2019.
• The amount of trash collected during 1 hour of plogging in Fräntorp, Sweden on May 31, 2020.
• The amount of trash collected during 1 hour of plogging in Sävedalen, Sweden on May 29, 2020.
• Ending the plogging activity at the local recycling station in Gothenburg, Sweden on July 11, 2019. Here, plastic containers are being sorted for recycling.
• Items that are difficult to handle or dangerous, found during plogging, should be reported to local authorities for safe removal (example: a car wreck near Gothenburg, Sweden on March 21, 2019).