Environmental Groups and Runners Join Forces to Tackle Litter in Philadelphia
The Swedish fitness craze, plogging, hits Philadelphia with dozens of local running groups participating in the first ever Philly Plogging Week to clean up litter.
WHAT: Clean Air Council, Not in Philly, Pennsylvania Resources Council, and West Philly Runners will host the first ever Philly Plogging Week, April 9th – 15th, 2018. As a lead up to Earth Day and the Run for Clean Air on April 22, hundreds of runners will pick up litter as they participate in their weekly runs. Plogging, an activity gaining popularity in the United States, is not only good for the body and mind, it helps the environment. Bags and gloves will be provided to all runners participating in group runs, courtesy of Pennsylvania Resources Council. For a full list of Philly Plogging Week group runs, visit Clean Air Council’s website.
WHO: West Philly Runners
Clean Air Council representatives
Not In Philly representatives
Pennsylvania Resources Council representatives
100s of runners from running groups across Philadelphia
WHEN: Monday, April 9th through Sunday, April 15th – Full schedule
WHERE: Philly Plogging Week daily group runs – Full schedule and locations
WHY: The word plogging is a portmanteau of the word jogging and plocka upp (the Swedish term for pick up). Philly Plogging week aims to create awareness around the effects of litter on our neighborhoods and environment. There is a city-wide need for better litter management practices like street sweeping and public waste receptacles. Litter discarded in streets and public spaces can easily travel through the stormwater system to our waterways, costing the City of Philadelphia enormous sums to clean up and harming wildlife. By participating in Plogging Week, runners demonstrate their commitment to a clean and healthy environment
MORE ABOUT RUN FOR CLEAN AIR: Philly Plogging Week leads up to Philadelphia’s largest Earth Day celebration and popular spring race, Clean Air Council’s Run for Clean Air presented by Toyota Hybrids. This year’s 37th annual Run for Clean Air will be held on Earth Day — April 22, 2018, from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. This year’s Run for Clean Air event will begin at Paine’s Park on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive next to the Philadelphia Art Museum. More than 2,000 runners are expected to join in this year’s certified-green Run for Clean Air, the region’s largest Earth Day celebration and one of its longest-running charity races. 10K Run, 5K Run, 3K Walk and Kids’ Fun Run. For the first time, runners around the country can also celebrate Earth Day and support Clean Air Council by running a Virtual 5K race in the week before and after Earth Day.
HASHTAG: #PloggingPHL
ABOUT NOT IN PHILLY
NotInPhilly.org is the first map-enabled adopt-a-block site in the country. Over 1,000 Philadelphians have committed to cleaning their block of litter by going out once a week.
ABOUT CLEAN AIR COUNCIL
Clean Air Council is a member-supported, non-profit environmental organization dedicated to protecting everyone’s right to breathe clean air. The Council is headquartered in Philadelphia and works through public education, community organizing, advocacy, and government oversight to ensure enforcement of environmental laws. For more information, please visit www.cleanair.org.
ABOUT PENNSYLVANIA RESOURCES COUNCIL
The Pennsylvania Resources Council is Pennsylvania’s oldest grassroots environmental organization, founded in 1939. PRC works with a broad coalition of stakeholders to protect the Commonwealth’s resources for future generations. They provide innovative programming on conservation issues including litter prevention, recycling, waste diversion, watershed stewardship, environmental education, and green living. To learn more, visit www.prc.org.
ABOUT WEST PHILLY RUNNERS
West Philly Runners meets for group runs every Wednesday, running three distances: 2, 4, and 6 miles. Runs end at a local establishment where they rehydrate and reenergize. Runners of all skill-level are welcome and paces vary from turtles to squirrels.
