Combining exercise and picking up rubbish, the event takes place in the city centre on April 15.

Albufeira is joining the third edition of the Portugal Plogging Challenge on April 15.

Plogging, a new sustainable initiative invented in Sweden, mixes sports like jogging and caring for the environment. Its name combines the Swedish term plocka upp, meaning “to pick up,” and jogging.

“While we run or walk, we can collect the rubbish we find along the way, using just a glove and a reusable bag. This is the challenge”, explains the municipality.

The meeting point is at the Paços do Concelho building at 09:15. The initiative will start at 9:30 and follow a circular route, taking participants back to Albufeira’s City Hall at noon.

With a total distance of 3.76 kilometres (km), the route runs east along Rua do Município, down the street next to the Modelo supermarket, behind the Hotel Paraíso, towards Parque de Vale Faro, where rubbish will be collected.

The group then heads to Praia dos Alemães and to the Praia do Inatel, goes up the Rua dos Oceanos and arrives again in front of the City Hall, where participation certificates are scheduled to be handed out.

José Carlos Rolo, mayor of Albufeira, says, “it is an event that we have cherished since the beginning. It draws people’s attention not only to the need for outdoor physical exercise, in contact with nature, but it also raises awareness of the impact of litter on our lives and its negative consequences in terms of the environment”.

Cristiano Cabrita, vice-president and responsible for the Environment department, underlines that “our citizens’ quality of life, as well as environmental protection and sustainability, are the municipality of Albufeira’s top concerns. This is why we welcome every initiative of this kind. It is important to make people aware of the urgency of caring for our planet, so we invite everyone to participate in the event”.

During the first edition, in October 2021, the Plogging Challenge Portugal mobilised 244 volunteers in 22 locations and nine districts of Portugal, from the Algarve to Bragança. It is expected that year after year, similar to what happens in other parts of the world, it will increasingly capture people’s interest.

The activity is open to all. However, prior registration is required, which must be done by March 15 by filling out the form here.