OUTSIDE: Pick Up Artist

Looking for a way to help with post-storm cleanup? Here’s an option, and one that includes some exercise, too. A sad necessity that some have been incorporating into their fitness routines for a long time now has a name and a trend behind it: Welcome to plogging. Plogging is defined as picking up litter and jogging at the same time (from the Swedish verbs plocka upp – to pick up – and jogga). The term was invented and popularized as an organized activity in Stockholm in 2016. Now thought of as a full-body workout that involves jogging, stopping and bending, plogging is currently taking London by storm. While all you need is goodwill and a bag (perhaps a backpack) for your lovely collections, plogging can also be a regular group activity. Plogging is being promoted by Keep America Beautiful, a nonprofit that is the largest community improvement organization in the U.S., founded in 1953. Plogging can be conducted along roads, in parks, on beaches – anywhere you may find yourself walking the dog, running, etc. The search for litter is unfortunately easy after big storms in recent weeks (but there’s always something to pick up and dispose of). The things that you find can make for wonderful anecdotes and countless little adventures, plogging regulars report, not to mention a sense of well-done civic duty. So if you want to take the littering problem “into your hands,” gather your friends and start cleaning up the mess. [AP]