Plogging: The eco-friendly workout
NEW GLOBAL MOVEMENT WHICH COMBINES JOGGING WITH PICKING UP TRASH FINDS MANY TAKERS IN JEDDAH
The Red Sea city of Jeddah seamlessly combines the old and the new, the past and the present. It is the financial capital of Saudi Arabia, and is also blooming into the country’s top tourist location as Saudi Arabia rapidly opens up to leisure travellers.
But lately some things have also been changing for residents here. The sense of community is growing, with citizens and expatriates coming together to fight wastage, and do their bit for the environment. This has led to the emergence of a new movement – plogging. It is the first of its kind in the Middle East. Running is good for health, and picking up litter is obviously good for the environment. Plogging brings both together. A movement that began in Sweden, plogging involves walking, jogging or running while picking up the litter you see along the way. It is attracting a growing following in Europe and America.
In Jeddah, runners, joggers and walkers can be seen picking up all sorts of litter, from the beaches and the streets. Thousands of water bottles, straws, cigarette butts and plastic bags have been picked up and sent for recycling.
Taha Boksmati is an engineer working for the General Authority of Meteorology and Environmental Protection (GAMEP). And he’s credited with bringing plogging to Saudi Arabia. Boksmati said he discovered the movement through a video his friend posted online.“We launched it on June 18 this year. A short while after being appointed Chief Environmental Officer of Hejaz Ultra [a Jeddah-based running group] by the founder Fabrice Laborie, I suggested this activity,” Boksmati said.
Regular meet-ups
Hejaz ploggers meet at Jeddah’s Medd Café on Saturdays, Mondays and Thursdays at 6pm. Members are free to walk, jog or run and the activity lasts for one hour.
“With our sponsor Sanita, we are now funded to provide our members with T-shirts, sanitisers, gloves and bags prior to every plog. Keeping our activity environmentally sustainable, we made sure our methods and materials are eco-friendly. For instance, we only use biodegradable bags and strive to keep our operational waste to a minimum,” he added.
Global waste is having a dire impact on the environment, with its buildup reaching threatening proportions.
According to UN reports, more than eight million tons of plastic is leaked into the ocean each year – the equivalent of dumping a garbage truck of plastic every minute.
In Saudi Arabia, the GAMEP warned earlier this year
against the increasing amount of waste being generated in the kingdom.
A report in Al Hayat daily said of the 13.6 million tons of waste produced by 169 cities, towns and villages in Saudi Arabia annually, at least six million tons originate in the three largest cities – Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam. The national census indicates that 65.6 per cent of Saudi Arabia’s population is concentrated in these three cities.
Jeddah residents are trying to raise awareness about the matter and ploggers are leading by example.
They have now added segregating litter to the wasteprevention efforts. Each plogger announces before the start whether they will be collecting plastic, paper, cigarette butts and so on. The bags are then dumped into categorised recycling bins. They aim to spread to more districts in Jeddah, before expanding to other cities.
The group wants to make sure its anti-litter message gets out there. “Whether it is someone else’s garbage or not, one should not be fooled – if I trash my spot, its trashing someone else’s because we share one environment,” Boksmati said.
Litter-free dream
Amira Gentapa, a software engineer born and raised in Jeddah, joined Hejaz Ploggers because she wanted to be more proactive when it came to the environment. “I’ve always loved the outdoors and enjoyed the beauty of nature, whether it is the oceans, forests, deserts, or wildlife. I hate how humans are staining it,” Gentapa said.
She said it is her dream to see Jeddah’s seaside litter-free.
Members of Hejaz Ploggers told Gulf News they have mostly received positive reactions from bystanders.
“Some were confused as a girl running and collecting trash is a rare sight, but others encouraged us and cheered us, while a few kids approached us to see what we were doing,” Gentapa said.
“At first, people were curious. Were we running or picking up litter? But as soon as they realised, they seemed to appreciate it,” Jawahir Walid, another member, said.
Another local initiative, called ‘Team Up to Clean Up’ shares the same hopes for Jeddah. It was started by Saudi Arabian Airlines Captain Essam Jawa and his family.
“It all began a long time ago when my family and I used to go jogging in the Basateen district of Jeddah. It was quite a clean place, where we enjoyed our regular sports activities. But gradually, the place became dirty and there was garbage everywhere. We decided, with the help of our friends, to revive its beauty,” Jawa said.
“The aim is to raise awareness about littering and its effect on residents and the environment. We’ve brought together groups of volunteers and environmental enthusiasts in several districts across Jeddah,” he said.