BBMP in line for Guinness Record for picking plastic

Replicating the Scandinavian trend of ‘Plog Run’— picking litter (plastic) while jogging for the first time — the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) on Tuesday is all set to enter the Guinness Book of World Records. Volunteer joggers as part of the run at 50 locations across the IT city collected a whopping 33.4 tonnes of plastic litter, breaking the previous world record of 28.5 tonnes.

Experimenting with various initiatives to rid the city of plastic waste, the BBMP had partnered with many NGOs to organise the first-ever ‘Plog Run’ in the city as part of Gandhi Jayanthi. Joggers were invited to take part in the event at 50 different locations. According to BBMP commissioner N Manjunath Prasad, as much as 33,495.45 kilograms of plastic waste was collected in less than 12 hours.

“This qualifies for the World Record as the previous record was only 28.5 tonnes of plastic waste collected in 12 hours,” the commissioner said. However, the information about who set the previous world record was not known.

Organisers of the event revealed that as many as 7,000 people took part in the event. Interestingly, among the waste that was picked, PET bottles topped the chart.

Nalini, a representative from Hasiru Dala said, “The plastic bottles topped the list of plastic waste that was collected on Tuesday.

We were given the task of reaching anything beyond 28.5 tonnes and we could do this in less than 12 hours,” she exclaimed. The programme started at 9 am and ended by 8.15 pm. Several NGOs like Namma Nimma Cycle Foundation, Let’s Be the Change, United Way Bangalore, and Go Native collaborated with the BBMP for the event. Mayor Gangambike Mallikarjun flagged off the event. The state government had banned single-use plastic water bottles in all government functions and at government offices. The BBMP also issued a circular wherein it banned the use of single-use plastic bottles.

The concept of Plog Run originated in Sweden where people were encouraged to pick up litter while running.