Plogging? You know, when you jog and pick up litter at the same time

Rachel Smith | IndyStar

Show Caption Hide Caption Indy, are you ready for plogging? Casey Seaton and Jason Shaw talk about new Swedish exercise craze, plogging, which includes picking up trash while jogging.

On a sweltering June morning, a spandex-clad group bounced, high-fived and hugged in a circle in Centerpoint Brewing’s parking lot. Yet, this wasn’t just any exercise crew amping up for a workout. Rather, as the group took off running down Indy’s Monon Trail, they were invigorated by their newfound mission to plog.

Plog? Yes, you heard that right.

Simply put, plogging involves picking up trash while running. The name combines the Swedish phrase, plokka upp, or “to pick up”, and jogging. Started in Sweden in 2016, this eco-friendly workout craze has now made its way to the trails of Indianapolis.

“It’s like two wrongs make a right. It’s two things that people don’t necessarily care for: picking up trash and jogging,” said Casey Seaton, co-leader of the November Project Indy, a free outdoor fitness group. “You put them together and people all of a sudden want to do it.”

Too much dumping: The trashy side of Indiana is showing

Bag it, send it: The dust in your home could be contaminated with lead. This researcher wants to help you.

Perhaps it’s the combination of doing something that’s good for your health, your community, and the environment all at the same time. The addition of free beer probably doesn’t hurt, either.

The November Project and community organization Keep Indianapolis Beautiful have come together to host a “Summer of Plogging Series.” They invite the Indy community to join them on a 6-kilometer plog along a local trail each month, starting and ending at a different brewery each time. The November Project provides the route and competitive fitness spirit, while Keep Indianapolis Beautiful supplies the gear to pick up litter.

“It’s a great family activity, a way to help kids understand the importance and their responsibility in picking up litter,” said Ashley Haynes, spokeswoman for KIB. “It’s a chance to be outside, to meet some new people, to hang out at one of the local breweries, and to do something good for one of the beautiful trails that Indianapolis has to offer.”

And if the amount of trash collected at the June event is any indication, plogging can do a lot of good.

“It was crazy how quickly they came back and how full these bags of trash were,” said Amanda Wallace, tap room manager at Centerpoint Brewing. “It blew my mind that there was that much trash in the short distance that they covered. Almost everybody brought back a full bag of trash.”

Not only did the group fill up a flatbed truck with trash, but they also logged a solid workout. Indeed, a partnership between KIB and the fitness app, Lifesum, allows you to track calories burned from plogging. According to the app, a half hour’s plog burns about 288 calories, compared to 235 calories for a jog.

“There’s more involved than just running,” said Jason Shaw, fellow co-leader of the November Project Indy. “By the end of it, you have a 15 pound bag of trash that you’re doing a shoulder raise with…just picking up the trash itself, you’re doing squats.”

The November Project set the plog route so that participants first ran two miles of the Monon Trail in a “recon mission” to scope out trash. This strategy also prevented folks from just picking up trash without breaking a sweat. After this initial jaunt, the KIB team met the ploggers, armed them with litter pick-up supplies, and gave them a set time to plog back to the brewery.

“My first thought was, ‘Are you really going to be running that much if you have a full bag of trash?’” Wallace said, “But these people were in shape, and when they came back, they had definitely earned that beer.”

If jogging or lifting bags of trash sounds intimidating, don’t worry. You can also plog at your own pace.

“Even if you’re not a runner," Haynes said, "you’re welcome at the events.”

Those interested can also incorporate plogging into a weekly routine outside of the organized events, perhaps in place of a run or when walking the dog. Part of the beauty of plogging is that all one really need is a trash bag, gloves, and the motivation to get outside and pick up litter.

Plogging’s ease has likely contributed to its rapid global spread. The Instagram hashtag #plogging and the Plogging World Facebook group reveal the worldwide appeal of this phenomenon, with recent posts from ploggers in Brazil, Ecuador, England, India and Mexico, among others.

KIB partnered with Yelp on Earth Day this year to bring the first organized plog to Indianapolis, and the “Summer of Plogging Series” will build on this event to increase awareness of the plogging lifestyle in Indy.

“We want to inspire people to shift how they operate on a daily basis — to notice that piece of trash that they walk by, and to pick it up instead of leaving it on the ground,” Haynes said. “It’s a way to show your commitment to the place that you live and to keeping it clean and beautiful.”

Come out and join KIB and the November Project for the rest of the Summer of Plogging Series:

• July 21, 2018: Indianapolis Cultural Trail 6k Plog starting at Two Deep Brewery, 10 a.m.

• August: Pleasant Run Trail 6k Plog, location and time TBA

• September: Pogues Run Trail 6k Plog, location and time TBA

Rachel Smith is a 2018 American Association for the Advancement of Science Mass Media and Science Engineering Fellow. She is being hosted by IndyStar and working collaboratively with its environmental reporting team that is made possible through the generous support of the non-profit Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust.

Reach Rachel at sarah.bowman@indystar.com or emily.hopkins@indystar.com.