Stopping for litter

Plogging is the new trend from Sweden. What you need? Running shoes, a garbage bag and (a little) fitness, to start with. (;

Plocka
The word "plogging" is an amalgamation of the Swedish word "plocka," meaning to pick up, and "jogging. This trend started in Sweden in 2016, and plogging is now finding ground in the Netherlands as well. Instagram is full of photos of runners picking up litter on their rounds under the guise of #plogging.

Plogging in the Netherlands
More and more initiatives around "plogging" are emerging in the Netherlands. Stichting Go Clean, in cooperation with the Municipality of Duiven and Westervoort, organized its own plogging event on Saturday, August 25. They collected as much litter as possible from the Horsterpark while running. Retulp sponsored drinking bottles as a thank-you gift for the volunteers.

Register your trash
Litterati is also starting to become more popular in the Netherlands. In this mobile app, you can register the litter you encounter in order to map what kind of litter is where. In San Francisco, this caused the tax on cigarettes to be raised after it was found that they were causing a lot of litter. After registering in the app, a school in California banned straws because they were ending up on the streets all around the school.

'But does the solution lie in cleaning up and keeping clean, or in production in the first place? Aren't the producers (in large part) responsible?'

Prevention is better than cure (or recycling)
These are good trends and initiatives, because litter harms nature and is so unnecessary! But does the solution lie in cleaning up and keeping it clean, or in production in the first place? Aren't the producers (largely) responsible? I wonder what the result of a deposit on cans would be.

When my grandfather and I used to go hiking in the woods, we would take a plastic bag with us by default. All the waste we encountered along the way was picked up and put into the bag. Running is not really my thing, but I think I'll be a bit more conscious about walking and taking a garbage bag with me. Every little bit helps, right? In the meantime, I continue to hope that we become more aware of single-use plastics and they don't end up as litter.

Sources:
www.voordewereldvanmorgen.nl
www.trouw.nl