Lunchtime litter runs prove fruitful
The Central Otago District Council takes its environment seriously. But that doesn’t mean it can’t have fun sorting out its patch. Central Otago reporter Adam Burns was invited along to join the latest ecofriendly movement and learned what exactly ‘‘plogging’’ is.
WHEN weighing up what to do on a lunch break, doing a litter round is not the obvious choice.
Tell that to the Central Otago District Council’s latest band of environmentalists.
Council staff have been running impromptu ‘‘plogging’’ sessions during lunch breaks.
What is plogging? I, too, am late to the party.
It has been described as the combined act of picking up litter while jogging or walking.
‘‘The rubbish way to work out that’s good for your health and the planet,’’ a council spokesperson said, in a Facebook post.
It has reportedly been around since 2016 where it began as an organised activity in Sweden, going hand in hand with the Nordics’ clean, green reputation.
The council is so enthusiastic about its exploits, I was invited to join staff members for one of their plogging sessions.
It was during a lunch break for the hardworking contingent so by the time I had arrived for some initial chit chat, everyone was already in the thick of the action, strutting the pavement, or shrubbery, brimming with a sense of purpose.
Staff members focused on areas near the Alexandra Historic Bridge and along Rivers St.
After a few minutes, the lineup of bags were filling up rapidly with rubbish.
Council communications coordinator Maria De Cort handed me a bag and told me to get to it.
The prospect of picking up rubbish while gathering comment from council regulatory services manager Lee Webster, for this reporter had the makings of a logistical nightmare.
Following a sustainability workshop council staff attended a few months ago, employees had taken up plogging in their own time, Mr Webster said.
‘‘Council have been looking at how we can be more sustainable ourselves.
‘‘So we’ve been looking at what that means.’’
He said the process had been ‘‘organic’’ as staff members would often respond according to observations near the workplace.
Groups on plogging sessions would vary in size from two people to 12.
Mr Webster’s bag was nearly full within minutes of leaving the council grounds.
As far as trends staff members were noticing, it tended to be the ‘‘weird and wonderful’’.
A hose pipe, for example, was not beyond the realms of possibility if you looked hard enough.
I too made good progress, accumulating your general mix of wrappers and bottles and cigarette butts.
Central Otago Mayor Tim Cadogan had previously commented during a Vincent Community Board meeting on the amount of litter found in urban areas of Alexandra.
Mr Webster said he did not disagree with those sentiments.
‘‘I’m sure of it is accidental to a degree, and other parts it is absolutely intentional [littering].’’
After about 20 minutes, it was
time to return to the council buildings to dispose of the litter stockpiles. Rubbish bags were packed, including mine.
It had been a profitable day
for some staff.
Council environmental engineer Dom Haanen emerged from the shrubbery along the Clutha River with a $5 note.
‘‘Five dollars was a pleasantly surprising find, but the satisfaction from knowing I’ve removed this bagful of rubbish from the riverside is even greater,’’ he later said.
If there ever was an incentive for joining the plogging craze, that was it.