French Huizhou resident pioneers 'plogging' in China

[Photo: from VCG]

Have you heard the word "plogging" before? It's a combination of the words "picking" and "jogging", and it's an environmental protection campaign to pick up garbage while jogging that started in Europe. Now a Frenchman, Olivier, is promoting this campaign in Huizhou, South China's Guangdong province.

Olivier married a Chinese ethnic Hakka girl, Zhong Lingyu, several years ago. Zhong said they set up their company's branch in Huizhou in late 2014, and chose to settle in the city and start their family.

As he lives by the Dongjiang River, Olivier likes going to the riverside park every afternoon to jog or do other exercises. Over time, he noticed some places full of plastic waste off the beaten path, such as places where fishermen gather.

Over a year ago, Olivier started to "plog" at the bank of the river. His running gear includes a special item: a garbage bag. Influenced by his enthusiasm for picking up garbage in his WeChat posts, more and more people are joining in to engage in "plogging". His action has made garbage-picking an enjoyable sport.

[The audio clip is from Studio+, produced by CRI] 

(Source: China Daily)