Start plogging!
Welcome to day 16 of the zero waste challenge, where we introduce you to a new fitness trend called plogging. The zero-waste lifestyle involves many more things than just using a reusable bottle or container. It’s a way of living in harmony with nature and being respectful to all beings.
This is also the reason why I started getting up quite early to have an hour of meditation before I start my day.
Now, I am not asking you to do that. Although I highly recommend it. Since it has many health benefits and gives me mental clarity, hence if you are on the lookout for mental health, you can’t go past sitting in silence and observing your thoughts.
But today’s zero waste challenge is not about observing your thoughts. Today, I ask you to do something more physical. Start plogging!
What the heck is plogging?
Plogging is a Swedish movement that I became part of unknowingly, as I started collecting rubbish on my morning runs. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one doing this, and it even had a name. Plogging aka jogging and picking up litter, from the Swedish plocka upp, which means: “to pick up.”
The trend started in 2016 by Erik Ahlström, who noticed litter that would remain on the streets for weeks. Annoyed by the rubbish in the streets, he started picking it up as he went jogging. Since then, it has become a worldwide trend.
The good news is that anyone can do it. If you are not the type that likes to run, perhaps you can go for a walk with your dog or just brisk walk by yourself. Even the PM of India has been seen plogging along the beaches in Mamallapuram.
Grab a pair of gloves and a bag, and off you go. Most of the time, I actually forgot to take gloves and a sack. But to my surprise, I almost always found something that I could use to collect trash in. Well, and I would simply just wash my hands when I got back home.
How are you helping?
Not only are you doing something good for your body, but you are also helping the environment to stay cleaner. It goes thus far as you are helping animals not to confuse waste with food and therefore saving lives. Potentially thousands.
Often I would find cans and bottles which have a refund on them, and you can get a couple of cents back for it. Now in North America, it is only a couple of cents, but I remember in Germany it was actually quite a bit like four bottles = 1 euro if I remember correctly.
When we would hang out in a park during a beautiful summer day, we gather all our empty bottles and give them to a homeless person. Most of the time, they would walk around with a trolly anyway. Win-win.
[mailerlite_form form_id=2]So that is my challenge for you today.
Get outside into nature. Have some fun!
Listen and observe. Go for a run and start plogging. Use the hashtag #plogging in your Instagram and Twitter feed and add @zerowasteman.
Your body will thank you for it and your planet too.
According to Ahlström, plogging for half an hour will burn at least 288 calories on an average as compared to 235 calories from regular jogging.
Another good reason to start today 🙂
