Plogging is a new activity coming to a neighbourhood near you! Started in Sweden, plogging is where people jogging or walking on local trails take a bag and collect litter while they go.
Plog’ers and Plogging groups are spreading across the world as a way of helping keep our trails clean while getting in your daily exercise.
On this page:
About Plogging
Plogging = jogging (or walking) + picking up trash. Plogging.
Started in Sweden as a way of working out, ‘plocka upp’ translates as ‘picking up’ so combining the Swedish root with jogging led to the global phenomenon that is Plogging! Through social media, Plogging has become a global movement that encourages people to stop littering and help to keep their parks, trails and open spaces clean.
Plogging is an individual activity and a communal one – you can ‘Plog’ alone or in a group and how much you collect is entirely up to you. Carrying and filling a garbage bag that you leave at the trail entry once a week, a monthly or after a one-off intensive clean up in a local area with a group, or a daily walk collecting a small amount and leaving it in the garbage can – its entirely up to you!
We, and your neighbours, will be grateful for anything that helps keeps our trails clean and well looked after.
Get started
Visit the Love My Hood Community Clean-Ups page to find out more about how to get hold of garbage sacks, gloves and other items you might need for either individual or community ‘Plogging’.
If you just want to use a carrier, collect some items and drop them in the nearest can (we have more than 500 of these in our parks, trails and open spaces) there is no need to register or collect any items.
Guidelines and pick-up
Don’t forget to check the safety tips and guidelines.
If you’re collecting a larger amount of garbage, we ask that you use a sack provided from a local community centre and, if you’re not taking home with you, please leave it at the roadside at the park or trail entry. As soon as you can, please call 519-741-2345 and ask for a ‘community litter pick garbage collection’ and include a detailed description of where the garbage is located and our teams will come and collect the garbage.
Report litter
If you come across areas where a large amount of garbage has collected or there are items you are unable to collect, please call 519-741-2345 and describe the location. Staff will come and clean up the litter as soon as they are able to.
Learn more about litter clean-up in Kitchener.