We’ve officially passed the halfway point of the year. Maybe you’ve kept your New Year's intentions to be more environmentally conscious, or maybe you got off track. But great news - there’s never a better time than today to start a new habit that will benefit you & the environment! 31 Days of Plogging with LEN is London Environmental Network’s environmental challenge for the month of July, and anyone, anywhere, is invited to take part.  

Picking up garbage

31 Days of Plogging with LEN is all about:

  • Increasing awareness of your surroundings
  • Promoting a clean, litter-free habitat for vegetation & wildlife
  • Getting outside and enjoying time spent in London’s environment
  • Encouraging healthy, active lifestyles

What Is 31 Days of Plogging with LEN?

You might have heard of Plogging. It’s a Swedish activity combining the terms jogging + plocka upp (= picking up litter). This activity combines aerobic exercise with environmental stewardship, by picking up any litter you see on your route.

Plogging has been quite the trend in Sweden, but other cities are taking note - especially those on the coastlines. You may even be a ‘plogger’ yourself without even knowing it.

This challenge takes on the activity of plogging, but encourages people to do it for 30 minutes a week, for 31 days, to help make it a habit & make London a bit cleaner each time you go outside. This can be done individually, as a family, or in groups, and people of all ages & abilities are encouraged to participate.

How do I take part in the 31 Days of Plogging with LEN?

Each week, go outside for 30 minutes - you can walk, jog, cycle, or anything else that gets you outside and moving. You can go to a public park, residential area, trails, down the block- wherever you'd like! Bring a bag(s) with you, a pair of gloves, and a device to take photos.

While doing this, take a look around - do you see any litter along the way? Pick up the litter and dispose of it in your bag (you can take it home to sort afterward or sort it as you go). Continue with your outdoor activity and stop to collect all of the litter you see for 30 minutes, or you can keep plogging on for as long as you'd like.  

Take a photo (or multiple) and share it with us! It can be a photo of some of the garbage you’ve collected, a selfie while you’re plogging, a group photo, or something else - get creative! To share your photos with us you can:

  • Post it on Twitter and tag us @LondonEnviroNet - and we’ll retweet it
  • Post it on Instagram and tag us @londonenvironet 
  • When you post, use the hashtags:
    • #31DaysOfPlogging
    • #PloggingWithLEN
  • Email it to us at [email protected]

What do I do when the 31 Days of Plogging with LEN challenge is over?

You can continue plogging around the city for as long as you like, we won’t stop you - actually, we encourage it! This activity keeps our environment clean, protects wildlife, supports environmental & human health, and encourages Londoners to spend time in nature each week - why stop?

When the 31 days are up, we will share all submitted photos on our social media & right here on our website to show how much litter we collected around London!

We are so excited to see the positive impact this challenge will have on London’s environment and our communities. We hope the challenge instills eco-friendly habits & environmental stewardship in your lives, assisting in making London’s environment better, together.