The Keep Clean and Run, the world's longest plogging event, celebrates its tenth anniversary. This edition was presented at the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security (MASE) by the Undersecretary, Senator Claudio Barbaro, and by the ecorunner Roberto Cavallo. This event, sponsored by the ministerial body, took place from 17 to 23 April, starting from the Turin metropolitan area and arriving in Rome. The objective of the event is to raise awareness of the problems related to waste abandonment, in particular the widespread phenomenon of littering (abandonment of waste), involving citizens and young people in a sporting activity such as plogging, a discipline introduced in Sweden by Erik Ahlström and today widespread throughout the world.
The term "plogging", a fusion of the Swedish term "plocka upp" (to gather) and "jogga" (to run), has gained traction in recent years as a practice that combines the benefit of physical exercise with the positive impact on cleanliness of the environment.
What is it about? Those who participate in plogging run or walk, stopping occasionally to collect rubbish left along the way. But plogging isn't just about cleaning. It is also a declaration of intent: every bottle, waste or can collected serves as a reminder of our impact on the environment and the importance of adopting more responsible behavior.
The tenth edition of Keep Clean and Run kicked off on Wednesday 17 April in Turin, with the first of seven plogging marathons scheduled. The eco-runner Roberto Cavallo, founder of the initiative, together with the ultra-runner and environmental activist Oliviero Alotto, has committed to covering over 300 km in a week, collecting waste along the way and supporting cleaning initiatives in the municipalities adherents.
Starting from Collegno at 8.30 am, the two eco-runners concluded the marathon at 4.00 pm in Piazza Palazzo della Città in Turin, covering a distance of 42.195 km and passing through the municipalities of Rivoli, Rivalta, Beinasco and Moncalieri.
During the cleaning operations along the route, more than 286 people, including runners, volunteers and students, joined the eco-runners. Overall, 18 kg of waste was collected by Cavallo and Alotto, while the cleaning actions involving students and citizens led to the collection of 61 kg of waste, separated into paper, plastic, glass, metals and undifferentiated waste.
Roberto Cavallo concluded the event by describing the reasons behind the decision to bring plogging to the cities: "In recent years we have been able to estimate the quantity of waste dispersed, depending on the environment crossed and noted, unfortunately, how urban areas are particularly subject to the phenomenon of waste abandonment: we have in fact managed to collect over 5 kilos of materials per kilometer travelled. However, having chosen to run in urban areas this year has a positive side: we will be able to meet many more people, especially school girls and boys, and tell them how much we can do, every day, to live in harmony with the environment that welcomes us and that we can do it with a fun and healthy activity like plogging.”
Subsequent stages will include Milan (18 April), Bologna (19 April), Florence (20 April), Perugia (21 April), L'Aquila (22 April), and the final one in Rome (23 April), involving a total of 40 common.
At the end of the entire event, the total kg of waste collected will be counted and communicated, together with the equivalent kg of CO2 avoided (118 kg of CO2 not emitted with the Turin stage), thanks to the contribution of the volunteers and ploggers, and it will be communicated the number of participants at each stage.
Furthermore, Keep Clean and Run 2024 will pay particular attention to the problem of air pollution in cities. During the seven stages, an advanced electronic "nose" will be used to monitor air quality along the event route and collect data to share at the end of the event.
Keep Clean and Run is a territorial communication initiative born as part of the European awareness campaign Let's Clean Up Europe. Anyone can participate by registering their cleanup or plogging action on the website.
For further information:
Keep Clean and Run 2024, 79 kg of waste collected in the first stage in Turin Clean and Run 2024 (Eco dalle Città)
KCR 2024: 7 (plogging) marathons, 7 days, 7 cities (Envi.info)