Do you hate trash? Are you tired of garbage cluttering up beaches and other natural wonders? Want to make a difference? Well we’ve got the perfect day for you. Allow us to introduce… Plokk Dagurinn.
On the 24th April every year in Iceland, the community gets together to do their part in saving the environment.
The idea comes from the phenomenon that is slowly taking over the world known as plogging; combining plucking and jogging. It simply means to go running and pick up some trash whilst doing so.
Slam dunk the junk
Silke Van Broeck is leading the fight against rubbish for this Plokk Dagurinn on beaches around the country. Silke is a volunteer in Iceland volunteering for Worldwide friends/Veraldarvinir, an NGO non profit organisation that focuses on environmental projects working with international volunteers.
“This event is all about cleaning the coastline of Iceland and creating more awareness about trash that is lying around. You don’t always see it right away, but it is there and you can find a lot,” says Silke.
Silke goes on to say “This national trash pickup day (plokk dagurinn) is actually to get people picking up the litter around their house or in town but we would like to motivate people all over the island to come and take a look at the beaches. If you do a road trip around the island the coastline looks so nice and clean, but if you go on the beaches you can see how much trash actually comes to the shores.”
Feed the can, man
The aim of is to clean all of the beaches, Silke tells us. “Regular beach clean-ups are necessary. But of course the 24th is a good start. Worldwide friends will be organizing beach clean-ups in a few places around the island. Bitrufjörður is actually one of the filthiest beaches of Iceland. The current and wind is just right to bring everything to the bottom of the fjords. You can find a lot of driftwood, big plastics, fishing nets and microplastics.”
If you’re feeling inspired to do your part in cleaning up your surroundings, Silke has organised clean-ups in Viðey if you’re near the capital. In the east you can join in Berufjörður, in the NW Bitrufjörður and in the South they will clean around the harbour Landeyjahöfn.
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