Picking up rubbish on the jogging track

THE word “plogging” first caught my attention when I read the Star2 article “Heard of plogging? It’s good for both health and hygiene” (Feb 25).

Plogging comes from the Swedish word “plocka” which means “to pick”. Combined with jogging, it is now the latest trend in Scandinavia and other parts of the world too.

Another article “Plogging for a cleaner Penang” ( The Star, March 26) gave me the inspiration and bravery to take the first step at plogging by myself in Kuching.

I am a jogging enthusiast who just registered for my very first marathon (Kuching Marathon on Aug 12) recently. My usual and favourite jogging place is the Kenyalang Park Traffic Garden.

It is so dispiriting when I see the litter left by visitors in this beautiful garden. I cannot imagine how people could just throw rubbish about as dustbins are available.

I started my very first plogging venture last Saturday morning. Picking up every single piece of rubbish and putting it inside a nearby dustbin gave me so much satisfaction even though I was the only person doing it and some of the other joggers gave me confused looks.

But I carried on nevertheless. It made me very happy as I was not just jogging but also doing squatting exercises while picking up cigarette butts, empty cigarette packets and used tissue papers discarded by the uncaring visitors at Kenyalang Park Traffic Garden. I was also helping to keep the park clean.

I would like to encourage all joggers in Malaysia to try this rubbish-collecting way of getting fit. Let’s change the world together by picking up one piece of rubbish at a time!

JY LOU Kuching