First participation in the "Plogging" event held in Matsuyama City, Ehime Prefecture
Dec 28, 2021
Does anyone immediately know what it is when you hear the name "Plogging"? I think those who know are people who are always aware of the environment and health. On Culture Day Holiday of November 23 (Tuesday), we joined "Plogging" event organized by Iyo Bank, Ltd. as a collaboration company in Matsuyama City, Ehime Prefecture, famous for Dogo Onsen, Matsuyama Castle and Saka no Ue no Kumo Museum where their head office is located. The event which sparked in setting "Plogging” a trend in Ehime Prefecture to protect the beautiful oceans, rivers and towns in the region, was held for the 2nd time with a request from Iyo Bank PR/CSR Office that has been contributing to the creation of a sustainable community to make it an opportunity to further deepen knowledge and insights of "recycling” by explaining PET bottle recycling efforts we are promoting such as "bottle-to-bottle" and other activities to all participants at the event.
"Plogging" is a new sport born in Sweden that, as can be imagined by the name of PlockaUpp and Jogingg, can not only improve health but also contribute to society by picking up garbage and cleaning up a town while running.
By taking advantage of the time before starting at 8 a.m., Vending East Shikoku SC Manager Takata introduced our recycling initiatives. In the talk, he said that PET bottles to be collected from the garbage by the participants are not waste but resources, and explained the scheme of "bottle-to-bottle" as to how they are converted into new PET bottles by being disposed of in an empty container collection box. He also introduced that 100％ recycled PET bottle and labelless products have already become prevalent in our daily life, taking “Coca-Cola”, “I LOHAS Tennensui labelless” etc. as examples.
■Plogging started in early morning, mainly in Matsuyama City's downtown area
Plogging started at last. The 26 members who participated started from the front of Iyo Bank's head office toward the course to their own liking. Some in a serious running style, and others for a light jogging or a walk, each one headed to Matsuyama downtown early morning in styles that suit their physical fitness.
The view of early morning downtown area where we usually don't visit very often was very fresh, but when we looked at the feet and shrubbery, there were empty cans, PET bottles, and cigarette butts thrown away on the sidewalk. So, we thoroughly plockaUpp (picked up litter).
◆After Plogging
After about an hour of Plogging, the amount of garbage collected by all of us was worth more than 3 large bags. We realized how much litter exist even though it appeared not so much are thrown away. It was a great opportunity to experience “Plogging” for the first time through this event, as well as to tell people that PET bottle is a resource and to communicate the importance of sorted collection. We were able to finish without any problems, playing our role by distributing “Coca-Cola” and “I LOHAS Tennensui labelless” afterwards.
We are committed to shared value (Creating Shared Value: CSV) through our core business in efforts to tackle communities’ challenges and further partner with various entities.