What is plogging and why are more people in S'pore picking it up?
Published on
31 May 2022
Published by
The Straits Times
SINGAPORE - Having been in the army for 30 years before becoming a physical education teacher for 18 years, retiree Kok Wai Tong has always led an active lifestyle.
In recent years, the 73-year-old has picked up a new form of exercise called plogging.
Mr Kok walks around Pang Sua Pond and Yishun Pond weekly, and along the way, he picks up litter on the ground.
In Sweden, this practice of exercising and picking up litter - or plogging - is common. The term is a mash-up of the word "jogging" and the Swedish words "plocka upp", meaning "to pick up".
Plogging started in Sweden in 2016 and has spread across the world. According to the website of plogging founder Erik Ahlstrom, 20,000 people do it daily.
In Singapore, the practice has been picking up steam. More plogging events are being organised.
A monthly initiative by sports technology company ELXR called #ClearThePath sees some 50 participants plogging in areas with high human traffic, such as MacRitchie Reservoir, Punggol Park and the Green Corridor.
ELXR founder Steffan Fung, 42, hopes that more Singaporeans will try out plogging. He said: "My aim is for more people to organise their own monthly plogging sessions. It could become a social movement."
When it kicked off in May last year, #ClearThePath drew only around 20 participants.
Plogging is seen by Singaporeans as a more relaxed activity than running. But it is growing in popularity, and the monthly event has seen more participants.
Republic Polytechnic pharmaceutical science lecturer Neyton Tan Ting Wei, 36, attributes the increase in ploggers to people who want to contribute positively to the environment.
Mr Eng Ming Yao, 42, has been an active runner since 2017 and has taken part in ultramarathons - where the running distance is more than 42km - in South Korea and in Mongolia's Gobi Desert.
He said: "During the Covid-19 pandemic, I noticed a lot more litter around my neighbourhood. So, I decided to combine two activities that I love - picking up recyclable items while running."
Since last year, he has included plogging in his exercise regimen for a change of pace from his usual high-intensity interval training.
Others, such as Instagram user myploggingadventures, who declined to share her real name, has been documenting her plogs daily since Nov 18 last year. She loves marine animals, and hopes her efforts will help clear the ocean of litter.
Mr Eng said plogging forces him to run slower as he must stop to pick up rubbish. The slower pace is beneficial to long-distance runners as it improves aerobic fitness.
The father of three said he plogs at least six times a week around his Housing Board estate in the north, and his children, aged seven, nine and 10, join him on weekends. He picks up at least 30 plastic bottles or cans for every 5km he plogs.
"I will plog wherever I train. I have done it at MacRitchie Reservoir and Bukit Timah," said Mr Eng.
"It's killing two birds with one stone. I have incorporated it into my training programme and I get to keep our environment clean."
Mr Kok said it is important to encourage more people to take responsibility for the environment because it affects daily life.
"Can you imagine if we don't have enough clean water? I experienced water rationing in the 1960s. I helped my parents collect buckets of water, which we used sparingly," he said."Young people should be more concerned about it. I really want my grandchildren to have good lives."
Plogging tips for newbies
Mr Ryan Koh, 37, founder of the Facebook group Plogging Singapore, shares three tips on how to improve the plogging experience.
- Bring a reusable bag on your run to store the litter you pick up. Consider also having a pair of tongs or gardening gloves so you don't dirty your hands.
- Invite family and friends to join you to make the activity more efficient and enjoyable. You can add fun by assigning roles, such as having one person pick up recyclable litter, while another looks out for disposable trash.
- Appreciate your efforts. Don't fret over missing one or two pieces of litter on your run. Remember to look back and see how much cleaner the area is. That's the reward for the work you have done.
Source: The Straits Times © Singapore Press Holdings Limited. Reproduced with permission.
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