SURIGAO CITY–This city has caught up with the latest pro-environment fitness trend called “plogging”, or jogging while picking up trash.
Organizers said a total of 1,500 kilos of assorted litter were collected by over a hundred individuals who joined Tuesday’s 10-kilometer “plogging” that started at 5 a.m. at the Luneta Park.
Participants picked up litter strewn along the roadside, canals and along the shoreline at the Mabua Pebble beach, one of the city’s famous attractions, where the activity ended.
Lira Poralan, corporate communications manager of Nickel Asia Corporation (NAC) that organized the event, said the activity sought to raise awareness on the harm that irresponsible garbage disposal can cause to the environment.
“The message really is to be conscious of being responsible for our litter; that protection of the environment is a choice, a mind set, a collective commitment,” Poralan said.
Poralan said the activity was also NAC’s way of marking the International Environment Day (June 5), adding that the nickel conglomerate is planning a bigger “plogging” next year.
A portmanteau of the Swedish words “plocka” and ’jogga’, meaning “picking (up)” and “jogging”, the fitness craze first swept Swedish streets in 2016 and has now spread across the world.
This year’s participants consisted of employees and scholars of NAC’s three mining affiliates in Surigao del Norte and Dinagat provinces, namely Hinatuan Mining Corporation, Cagdianao Mining Corporation, and Taganito Mining Corporation. They were joined by volunteers from Surigao Runners, REACT Miners Group, and Bugsay Surigao. –Danilo Adorador, III
