The name plogging is a portmanteau, combining jogging with the Swedish phrase plocka upp, meaning to pick something up. The idea is simple: grab a bag, start jogging, and if you see any litter, pick it up! While doing something good for your body, you’re also doing something good for the environment.
Renátó Molnár is in charge of the Budapest plogging branch, and he explains the efforts they have made in cleaning up the city through their runs. “Personally, it’s always been important to me to take care of myself and the environment,” he says, “I organised the first Budapest plogging event in 2017, on Gellert Hill. We had about 20-30 people turn out, and at one point a shop owner saw what we were doing, and he came out and gave us lemonade in gratitude”.
Bolstered by this success, Renátó decided to invest more time, gathering friends, organising clean-up events and even going to schools to speak to students. Since then, they have organised plogging trips around Margaret Island, providing bags and gloves to participants, who can choose to run together with the group or strike out solo. The organisation is planning the next plogging event for sometime in the upcoming weeks. Keep an eye on the Facebook page for more information.
So far, there are several plogging societies organised worldwide – including Bolivia, Italy, Guatemala, Spain, Slovakia, India and even Costa Rica.
“It’s a really good feeling, and it’s even more of a full-body work-out than a regular run,” says Renátó, “because you’re reaching down to pick up litter”. Families turn out as well, as the events are all child-friendly. “People might think that picking up litter isn’t a lot of fun, but we really have a great time. You get to do some sport, go out into nature, and see the difference that you’re making. We make games out of it, too. And at the end of the day, think about going into nature and sitting around a bunch of litter. Do you like that? Is that nice?”
Like all other gatherings in the city, the sudden outbreak of the coronavirus brought large-scale plogging events in Budapest to a halt, but Renátó hopes that July will see a restart in the group’s activities. In the meantime, he adds, any individual can do a solo plogging run – just take a bag and some gloves and go for a run. “Even just on your ten-minute walk home from work,” he adds. “It’s a little thing, but little things add up.” Upcoming events will be published on the group’s Facebook page, and it is free to join, although registration is necessary so that organisers know how many people will be arriving.
When selecting a site to focus on for cleaning, Renátó and his team go out on scouting missions, which they refer to as mapping, to make sure they’re sending volunteers into places that need help the most. “But no place is clean,” Renátó admits, “And that’s funny and sad.”
Renátó is involved in many other areas of green activism, such as Let’s Do It! Hungary, which promotes sustainability, education and a culture of active responsibility. Other projects include River Clean Up projects aimed at the Danube, and World Clean Up Day in September. “We are also a part of Green Wave, which is when every country goes out and cleans up litter on the same day, like a wave going around the world.”
More information on plogging worldwide can be found on the official website, Plogging World, as well as on the group’s Instagram and Facebook accounts. Additional information on environmental projects can be found on Let's do it! Hungary's Instagram page.
"If you want to join with your organisation," Renátó adds, "or for any co-operation, reach out to letsdoithungary@gmail.com".
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