Plogging comes to Singapore
Running to keep fit? Why not help the environment by picking up litter along the way?
That is what 12 members of the local running group Superhero Runners did yesterday morning at the Rail Corridor.
It is called plogging, and started in Sweden in 2016. The word plogging is a mash-up of "plocka upp" (Swedish for "pick up") and jogging.
There are plogging groups in other parts of Europe and the activity is catching on in the US, reported the Washington Post.
Yesterday's was the first plogging event organised in Singapore by the Superhero Runners.
Formed in 2016, the group usually meets every Tuesday for a run with up to 40 members taking part.
Some armed with tongs and others with re-used plastic bags, the ploggers started at 8.15am from a clearing near the Hillview MRT station at Upper Bukit Timah Road and made their way to a bus stop opposite Beauty World Centre.
Superhero Runners co-founder Neyton Tan, 32, made it a point not to buy large black trash bags for the occasion.
"We're trying not to generate more waste", said the training specialist at a pharmaceutical company.
After 45 minutes, they collected more than eight bags of rubbish, which were deposited in a large bin at the bus stop.
Miss Christina Leo, 30, an accountant, said: "I wasn't surprised by the amount of trash but by the type of trash I collected."
Apart from the usual plastic water bottles, beer cans and cigarette boxes, the haul also included an umbrella cover, outsoles of shoes and a large glass bottle.
And that was just from 21/2km of the Rail Corridor.
RATHER HARD
Can plogging go mainstream in Singapore?
Ms Anuja Aggarwal, co-founder of Secondsguru.com, an information portal on eco-friendly lifestyles, said: "We have seen plogging pick up in Singapore, but pure plogging, that is, jogging and picking litter at the same time can be rather hard (for non-runners)."
But for a Superhero Runner like Miss Leo, it's not a problem.
She said: "I find that it's a great way to bond, exercise and at the same time, do good for the environment."
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