Change begins with me!

That's what these MBA students from UKM (Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia) who call themselves as 'Eco Warriors' truly believe in. As part of their final year project, they organised a fun run in Malacca in conjunction with the World Environment Day Celebration that involves a unique activity called 'plogging'.

The word 'plogging' comes from the Swedish word 'plocka upp', an activity of jogging while picking up litter or rubbish around you. The concept of plogging originated from Sweden in 2016 and soon became a trend in many other countries.

In collaboration with Malacca's SWcorp and support from different government and private agencies, the event 'Jom Plogging' was launched by Malacca state government EXCO, Datuk Tey Kok Kiew.

The Eco Warriors managed to gather 500 registered participants who received a t-shirt, medal, and goodie each. Every participant was required to bring 5 plastic bottles, cans of beverages or old newspapers as a condition for their participation. A total of 112kg of recyclable items and 43kg of waste was collected on that day.

They also launched 'Kempen Buang Sampah Ke Dalam Tong Sampah' ((Waste Disposal into the Trash Can Campaign). There are still a handful of people who do not manage their own trash well. In order to bring awareness and educate them, the event also featured a session on waste removal and separation techniques for the participants.

For that purpose, 10 garbage bin units and recycling bins were provided on-site. It was estimated that 400-500 kg of recyclable items were successfully avoided from being transported to the landfill.

He also added that in Malacca, which has a population of almost 900,000 people, an average of 1,000 tonnes of solid waste is generated daily. Shocking, isn't it?

This fun, innovative effort is coming to Klang Valley too!

Eco Warriors are actively spreading the culture of plogging by approaching schools in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor. They also believe that plastic should be prohibited throughout Malaysia, to build a safe and clean nation.