Vivek Gurav’s Pune Ploggers turn jogging litter into eco-bricks
Pune software engineer Vivek Gurav turned jogging into a clean-up. His Pune Ploggers have collected over 100 tonnes of plastic and build eco-bricks.
Software engineer · Founder, Pune Ploggers · Pune
First published on 6 September 2020. Figures and plans are as Vivek Gurav described them at that time.
On most mornings, Vivek Gurav goes for a jog in Pune and comes back with a bag of other people’s rubbish. Sometimes three or four friends run with him. Sometimes he runs alone. On weekends, 40 to 50 people turn up.
Gurav, 24, a software engineer, started the Pune Ploggers in early 2017. Plogging, a habit that began in Sweden, is simple: you pick up litter while you jog. By 2020 the Pune Ploggers had collected more than 100 tonnes of plastic from the city and adopted the Mutha River for clean-ups. Now they are turning that plastic into building blocks.
What Vivek does
Gurav’s first clean-ups were not runs. In 2015 he worked with the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan in Alandi, near Pune, and watched volunteers lose interest. “Initially, I was working with Swachh Bharat Abhiyan in Alandi in 2015 but, eventually, I saw people getting bored in the campaigns because it’s just random cleaning spots,” he told India People Blog.
In 2016 he came across plogging, and it solved the boredom problem. There is no event to plan and no organisation to join. “When we go jogging or for a cup of tea we just pick up the garbage wherever we find,” Gurav said. “Plogging has helped us entirely. It is like less time more garbage collection.”
For two years the idea stayed small. That changed in August and September 2019, when the Government of India organised the Fit India Plogging Run and the Pune Ploggers joined in. The group was later mentioned on Mann Ki Baat, the Prime Minister’s radio programme, and Sweden’s embassy in India shared their work.
From litter to eco-bricks
Collecting plastic only moves it from the road to a landfill unless it goes somewhere useful. So the Pune Ploggers began making eco-bricks: plastic bottles packed tight with plastic wrappers and scraps until they are strong enough to build with. Eco-bricks can be used for garden borders, furniture, planters and art installations.
Most eco-bricks are joined with cement, which makes the plastic inside impossible to recycle later. The Pune Ploggers changed the design. “We have modified the purpose and overall design of eco-bricks by innovating an interlocking mechanism to avoid the use of cement or any other bonding material,” Gurav said.
Who it helps
The first beneficiaries are the streets and the river. More than 100 tonnes of plastic that would have stayed on Pune’s roads, or washed into the Mutha, was picked up by hand. Gurav’s aim with the eco-bricks is to keep 2,000 tonnes of household plastic, much of it kitchen packaging, out of landfills, where it can work its way into rivers and the sea.
The work also passes on skills. Khushboo Duggad, an architect, works with the group on making the bricks stronger, more durable and useful for more purposes. She was training more than 500 participants to make them, towards the group’s goal of one lakh eco-bricks.
Picking up litter by hand has shown the volunteers which waste hurts the people who handle it. Medical waste is the most dangerous, because it can cause infection. Used sanitary pads are another problem. Gurav found that many young women had not heard of the Red Dot campaign, which asks people to wrap sanitary waste and mark it with a red dot so waste workers can spot it. “Biomedical waste is another biggest challenge because it can cause infection while collecting,” he said.
How you can help
You don’t need to be in Pune, or a runner. Gurav’s point is that anyone can do this on their own routine.
- Segregate plastic at home. Keep dry plastic apart from wet waste. Clean, sorted plastic is what goes into an eco-brick.
- Plog on your daily walk or jog. Carry a bag and pick up what you pass. Ask a friend to come along.
- Use the red dot. Wrap used sanitary pads and mark the packet with a red dot so waste workers know to handle it with care.
- Keep medical waste separate. Masks, syringes and dressings are the riskiest items for anyone sorting litter by hand.
Gurav’s own routine is the best argument for starting small. “I do it regularly, and Plogging is something where we don’t need any organization, plan, or event,” he said.
More stories of ordinary Indians doing quiet good in Candlelight. For the problems beneath the headlines, read Third Eye, and for daily news, IPB News.
Reported by Shivanee Thote
