Motorcycle Lab's Amanda Smith and friend Zola McDonald are organsing an event for walkers and runners to pick up rubbish as they go. Photo/John Stone
Plogging and palking - they're made up words targeting a very real problem.
Whangārei's runners and walkers can do their bit to tackle rubbish in the community at a plogging and palking event tomorrow starting at Motorcycle Lab on Dent St.
The word plogging means picking up rubbish while jogging - it started in Europe.
Event organiser Zola McDonald, a former Northlander who now lives in the Waikato, invented "palking".
"I just coined the word palking (picking up rubbish while walking) because not everyone wants to run."
She said people often walk with pushchairs or dogs, so palking was more realistic.
"We're going to supply rubbish bags and gloves, people can go and pick up rubbish either while running or walking."
After an hour or two collecting rubbish in the city centre, people will return to the start point to sort out the recyclables and enjoy a free sausage.
"The long term plan is for people to be more aware of rubbish lying around. If they're walking as a family, taking some bags and picking it up."
McDonald is a keen runner and took a rubbish bag with her on an 11km run around Morrinsville in May. The bag was filled 300m down the road.
It prompted the first plogging and palking event in Morrinsville last month, which 70 people attended.
Friend and Whangarei's Motorcycle Lab owner Amanda Smith followed the event on Facebook.
"After I saw her put this up, I couldn't help but see all the rubbish up here."
She asked McDonald to hold an event up here, and she agreed.
The event comes after Operation Clean Streets encouraged residents to get out and clean their neighbourhoods on Saturday morning, then drop the rubbish off to designated locations.
Operation Clean Streets organiser, Whangārei councillor Gavin Benney, said more than 300kg were picked up from the drop off zones by Culham Engineering, and more would have been collected by people doing it in their own time over the weekend.
Everyone is welcome to take part in the plogging and palking event.
Participants should wear good walking or running shoes and meet at Motorcycle Lab at 2pm.
The incident was reported about 7.30pm.