Ultra Plog Is Coming And Cleaning Through Putney

Members of Plogolution are running the length of the Thames clearing litter as they go

Co-founders of Plogolution, Dermot Kavanagh and Michelle Parkes along with a team of ploggers, will be running an Ultra Plog along the length of the Thames to raise awareness of the scourge of single-use plastic. They are due to arrive in Putney on Friday 31st and set off again from Putney Bridge on Saturday 1st June.


Dermot Kavanagh and Michelle Parkes at the source

Plogging is a an ecofitness activity that combines running and picking up rubbish at the same time. Over 50 members of set to run an Ultra Plog starting at the source of the Thames in Kemble, Gloucestershire and finish at the Thames Barrier, covering 184 miles in six days from 27th May to 1st June.

With over 75% of fish in the River Thames estimated to have plastic in their guts and over 80% of ocean litter being plastic, Plogolution wanted to raise awareness as well as document all plastic and other litter picked up along their Ultra Plog.

The 184 miles of riverside path will be plog-ed over six days running from 27th May to 1st June and Plogolution will be collecting all the rubbish along the route, recycling where possible and removing the rest for landfill. All plastic bottles being picked up will be kept in a support vehicle following the ploggers and counted up at the end. The Whale Company will be in attendance at the end of the plog. They run up-cycling workshops to turn waste into a resource by using a bicycle shredder to shred plastic which can then be turned into something new.

Kavanagh told this website: "We set up Plogolution as a way to encourage people to be fit and healthy and care about their local communities at the same time. This Ultra Plog is an excellent way to generate awareness of the amount of rubbish that litters our riverside paths and sadly eventually ends up in the river and then the sea. We hope to have people join us on the way either for all of it or various sections as we pass through. We are delighted to have The Whale Company joining us so that all the plastic we pick up can be made into something new.”

Plogolution are looking for people to come and join for either the full Ultra Plog or else pop along for various segments. More information and how to sign up can be found here.

Paul Benton, co-founder of the local Thames litter volunteers the Putney Tidy Towpath Group told the is website: "We are right behind this concept and hope that some of our volunteers may join in on the Ultra Plog in the Putney area. We suspect that the regular Ploggers will be gone in a flash!"






May 21, 2019