Community spirit: 220 volunteers clean up Costa Tropical countryside with ‘plogging’

Around 220 volunteers joined forces in Salobreña to clean up the Costa Tropical countryside, combining outdoor exercise with a practical effort to protect the local environment.

The community event brought together residents of different ages to collect rubbish from the Vega de Salobreña and the Rambla de Molvizar, demonstrating how a shared effort can make a difference to the area’s natural surroundings.

Organised by Miguel Garcia Sanchez e Hijos and Salobreña Town Hall, the initiative used a growing environmental trend known as ‘plogging’, which combines walking or running with collecting litter along the route. The official Salobrena Town Hall report on the clean-up confirms that a good 220 residents and visitors took part.

Families join forces to tackle countryside litter

Participants headed into the countryside equipped to gather discarded waste, helping to clear areas that are important to the local landscape and community.

The effort resulted in several lorry-loads of rubbish being removed, according to Salobreña Town Hall’s report on the environmental clean-up. The turnout also showed how environmental volunteering can bring generations together, with families and people of different ages taking part.

Placido Leyva, the town’s councillor for Sport, lauded the participation of families and volunteers from different generations. Environment councillor Mariola Cerezo also stressed the importance of looking after the municipality’s natural spaces. The event received support from local businesses, helping to bring together organisations and residents around a common cause.

Exercise with a purpose on the Costa Tropical

Plogging originated in Sweden. Its name comes from the Swedish expression plocka upp, meaning to pick up, combined with jogging. The international plogging movement explains how the activity combines exercise with collecting rubbish to benefit local communities and the environment. The idea is straightforward: participants get exercise while collecting litter, turning an ordinary walk or run into an activity that benefits the environment.

Salobrena has also been expanding opportunities for outdoor activities. A new 22-kilometre cycling route through Salobrena’s tropical landscapes offers another way for residents and visitors to explore the area’s countryside.

For Salobreña, the initiative offered a practical way to encourage healthier lifestyles while tackling waste in the surrounding countryside.

After the clean-up, volunteers were rewarded with local food, including gazpacho, guacamole and other healthy products. The event showed how sport, environmental awareness and community involvement can work together to improve shared spaces.

With 220 people taking part, the initiative also delivered a positive message for residents and visitors alike: protecting the Costa Tropical’s countryside is a responsibility that everyone can help shoulder.