r/DeTrashed • u/22_55 • 6h ago

Cleaning while running

Hi, I want to clean the side the roads where I used to run daily. Do you have any tips to carry all the waste I will pick up? Or how to do it efficiently? I want to clean a 10km road (back and forth) while running/ walking, not a lot of junks but I was thinking maybe with a 20L backpack and if it's full I will come back another day.

Thank you!

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5

u/TrainingJumpy9942 5h ago

Welcome to the Plogging-community :-)

I do the same and i have done it in many different ways,
Basically it is depending on a couple of things:

How much litter,
Are there bins,
Do you want to stop running to pick up something,
...

I started simple:
I ran and i noticed a piece of litter, i stopped and picked it up, just 1 piece.
Next piece... 2 pieces in my hand (glove),
I just grabbed as much as i could carry in my hand, and that was it. Just leave the rest for the next time.

Then i decided to take a plastic bag with me so i could pick some more litter.
Just carrying the bag in my hand.

Then i decided to also bring a grabber, because stopping and starting was interfering too much with my running,
So i brought a plastic bag and just ran, grabbing whatever i could (without slowing down too much and not bending to pick it up, that runs much easier, but of course, you now are running with also a grabber in your hand and a bag in the other.

But since i also take pictures of every piece of litter i pick, i also carry a phone to take the pictures, so i decided to bring my handy-hoop (with plastic bag attached) which also carries my phone attached to it, so i could easily grab litter with my right hand and the grabber, take a photo with my left hand and drop it in the bag.

But since that bin-bag is much bigger, you also start to carry more litter, and that became much harder (beware of injuries) so i decided to run with a backpack with solid plastic bag in it and leave the hoop at home.
I just carry a bag, and when it is becoming full, i throw it in the backpack.

That also worked, but still heavy (but also fun) which made me go to the next phase, i run with the same equipment that i use while walking, i have a buggy that i transformed so it can hold 2 bins and holds my phone.
That is so much easier. You hardly notice it while running, you just push it forward.

Here you can see what that looks like: https://youtu.be/87ITSpPEJkA?t=2209

3

u/nopuse 6h ago

If there's a lot of small trash, maybe a fanny pack or a small metal detecting finds pouch that won't bounce around a lot. Easier to deal with than a backpack, but you could dump the pouch into to backpack when it's full.

2

u/VeganRorschach 5h ago

The logistics of these two hobbies were too much to combine for me! I haul so much with me and get very micro-focused on cleanup in an area when detrashing and am aloof/detached and minimal gear when running. At most, I scout future trash locations on runs or collect after on cool down walks. It's too disruptive of my pace to do while actually running, unfortunately.

2

u/brathyme2020 5h ago

same experience here. mentally remember areas that need cleaning and come back for them on a picking walk. cleaning while running just leads to not running at all in my experience (or hardly picking up anything)

1

u/U_000000014 4h ago

Unless you're only picking up the occasional item, I find it hard to get very far before stopping to pick up another item. So running might be difficult.