Running and picking up trash: a new sport
English edit by Lidia Paes Leme and Katyanne Shoemaker
While walking along the beach, you have surely spotted various forms of trash. Unfortunately, this is the reality we live in: from cigarette butts to bits of plastic or bottle caps, such items are not hard to find. They often bother us and even prompt us to pick them up. If you are one of those people who pick up trash from the sand, you are already practicing a sport you didn't even know existed: plogging.
This term, coined in Sweden, combines the Swedish word plogga (to pick up) with "jogging"—meaning, essentially, running and picking up trash at the same time.
It might seem a bit strange, but this sport is taking the world by storm. The term’s creator, Swedish athlete Erik Ahlström, launched the Plogga website (@plogga), which gathers information about the activity and promotes events held around the globe. Its mottos are “be part of the solution, not the pollution” and “run with a purpose.” The movement has spread! Today, there are plogging groups ranging from Mexico (@PloggingMX) to Porto Seguro, Bahia (@ploggingportoseguroba), alongside many other major groups in the United States, Europe, and India. According to Plogga, the practice has already reached more than 100 countries!
Although it started as an activity associated with jogging, you don’t necessarily have to run to practice plogging. It can be combined with any physical activity you enjoy—walking, cycling, rowing, swimming... After all, the idea is to get moving while picking up the trash you find along the way.
As an exercise, plogging also allows for varied body movements, incorporating push-ups, squats, and stretches into the main activity. And it doesn't have to take place only at the beach: parks, streets, public squares—any location can become a setting for the practice.
Plogging can even become a game for children, serving as a fun way to engage them in environmental responsibility. Competitive races or games can be organized—such as seeing who finds the most colorful items or the material that traveled the farthest.
Practitioners of this activity develop values such as solidarity, work ethic, and perseverance, while also emphasizing their commitment to the environment.
Plogging itself is not just a sport; it is also a form of raising awareness about the pollution around us.
The solution to the waste problem lies not only in removing trash from streets, beaches, and parks, but also in rethinking how we produce and consume. By noticing the quantity and types of waste we encounter along the way, we are invited to examine our own habits and choices.
And this relationship with trash can evoke a range of feelings. A recent study involving activists who voluntarily collect waste showed that, while negative emotions—such as disgust—might serve as an initial trigger for action, interacting with trash can also spark positive sensations like joy, pleasure, and inspiration. The practice of collecting waste can also foster a sense that we are doing something tangible for the place we live.
So, are you up for trying this new sport?
Fontes:
LEPISTÖ, Ella; PYYHTINEN, Olli. Affective encounters with waste: The role of affects in trash activism. Ethnography, v. 27, n. 3, p. 755–780, 2026. DOI: 10.1177/14661381251316133
#Chatwithneptune #Plogging #WorldCleanUpDay #BeachCleanUp #Trash #LidiaPaesLeme #DemystifyingNeptune
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