Last month I came across @ErmesT 's initiative of #LocalGuidesCleanTheWorld 2.0 where he spoken about how local guides as a community can come forward and do their bit to clean the world. I realized local guides connect was brimming with articles of related issues like Planet Or Plastic by @KarenVChin , How companies are cutting plastic by @YK1001 to name some.
Inspired by their tips, suggestions and with urge to be a part of initiative, we decided to host a plogging meet-up in heart of New Delhi at the Jahapana Forest – apparently one of the most scenic green areas of Delhi.
Special thanks to co-host @PlogmanofIndia , a young local guide who also runs the Ploggers of India that helps bringing people closer to the concept of Plogging – a Swedish concept of cleaning the environment while running / jogging through a trail. It works like two birds with one arrow - serves the twin purpose of cleanliness and fitness. He is also on a mission to make India Litter free by taking plogging to multiple cities across India and I fall short of words to envelope the effort that he is putting in for the cause.
When we shared the idea of conducting this ploggers meet in the Jahapana Forest, few of first reactions were about how this place is already so clean and concerns about how we wouldn’t be able to find any litter to pick and clean. Turns out we collected close to 8 full sacks of plastic, ploythene, wrappers & litter in just one hour of plogging from a place which was supposedly assumed to be cleanest one from the outside.
We wore these orange gloves before the start to make sure its easier to pick trash that comes our way Also, we carried jute / bamboo sacks so as to make sure we do not use any plastic bag to dispose off plastic.
Here are a few of the realizations as we covered around 3kms of this trail in the dense forest of Jahapana :
- The smallest ones are the largest in number - When we looked back at all the waste we had collected, we found that most of the plastic were tiny wrappers of tabacoo (gutka), chips, toffees and other small snacking plastic wrappers. Perhaps what we think is the tiniest and doesnt make a difference, makes the most difference
- Moving to minimization is perhaps the only alternative – There were uncountable drinking water bottles that we found trashed into soil making it unfit for plants and leaving the land polluted. Perhaps carrying own water bottle and not buying a new bottle when thirsty is one of great examples and easiest way to moving to minimization. The lesser we use, the lesser is wasted.
- It takes a minute to litter, a lot to clean up - Isnt it funny how we first spread the litter and then pay someone else to clean it up (or ourselves spend time separately to clean it up)? What if we did not litter in the first place? Altough we were able to recover 35kgs of waste in just one hour, but what we also realized that the effort to pull out litter dug deep into soil was certainly a lot of effort than not littering it in first place!
- Not all that glitter is gold – We often surpass a place thinking it to be clean and not “that dirty” but when we take a closer look to it, we might realize the reality may be different. A little consciousness towards our surroundings is all that it takes to make the world a better place.
- Every effort counts - They say drops make an ocean and I coudnt agree more. You dont have to be a lot in number to do it (we were just 15 and we could manage 10 bags of litter weighing close to 35kgs). Imagine how wonderful it would be if all of us do our little bit everyday in our own ways!
Here’s a look at some of most common items found in our plogging drive :
They say its difficult to cut plastic, a few of local guides showed how its not that difficult. Sid
We ended with a pledge to not use / to reduce the use of plastic in our daily lives. Like Ripu Daman mentioned about how we never think of using a straw while we are at home and how suddenly our urge to use straw rises when we step out. Simple measures like that of moving towards minimization is perhaps the only way out. Here’s a picture of young girl not drinking her coconut water with straw but directly from the shell!
Later we disposed off all the collection with municipality garbage van. Its important to dispose off the waste in right manner after such a cleaning drive.
Also we rewarded ourselves with a lazy Sunday Brunch at one of most beautiful South Indian cafes called Juggernaut. Sharing pictures of our little treat too!
We had a great time at this meet-up. This was also an eye opener for a lot of us and I’m glad this meet up could start a new conversation and action in relation to depletion environment.
Closing this article with a question I coudn’t find a solution to and still am very curious to converse about- Why do FMCG companies still continue to sell their widely used everyday products in plastic when its ill-effects known to the world ? Why couldn’t we nip in the bud to have a safer tomorrow?
Thanks for reading, can’t wait to read your feedback. You can check out pictures of meet up here
