La Lucia plogger on a mission to keep area litter free

LOCAL trail runner Grant Harper is on a mission to keep the north Durban area clean, and he is doing so, one run at a time. The La Lucia resident is actively involved in the newest eco-friendly running activity, called plogging.

A combination of jogging and ‘plocka upp’, Swedish for ‘to pick up’, the term entails jogging and quickly stopping to pick up trash while out running. It was started by Stockholm based Erik Ahlström and has grabbed the world’s attention including Harper’s.

“I’ve been involved in trail running for the past 12 to 15 years and I normally run in the north Durban area including Virginia Bush nature reserve and I also spend a lot of time walking on the beach and swimming in the ocean. Between the two I’ve seen tons of rubbish either discarded on our streets or washed up on our beaches. So I would say I’ve always been environmentally conscious and my wife and I make an effort to reduce our waste at home and recycle as much as we can.

“We also try and influence our daughter to pick up litter whenever she sees it, even if it’s not her litter. I guess I could say I was technically plogging before the term was ever coined but I’ve certainly put in a more concerted effort to pick up as much litter as I can. On a typical run I spot loads of chip packets, plastic and glass bottles. I don’t have a planned route so I just find a route and go wherever which helps me spread the area that I cover,” he explained.

Using tote bags folded in his pants, Harper places items of litter into the bag before tipping over the rubbish at the next available public bin.

“I use a tote bag I got from the Otter Trail and they’ve been incredibly handy when it comes to putting rubbish into. I could use black bags but they tear easily and end up making more of a mess than needed,” he said.

The 39-year-old said he hoped to inspire and encourage other runners to try plogging.

“I think you also see firsthand the amount of rubbish strewn across our community and it adds a fun element to your run. It also gives you a different type of intensive workout. I’ve had people hoot at me and say well done and I’ve been tagged on Facebook for what I’ve done, but I don’t do it for the recognition, I’m passionate about keeping the community clean,” he said.

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