Get ready to plog! But what does that mean, exactly? “Plogging” is a Swedish term used to describe picking up litter while running, combining exercise with environmentalism.

The Mid-America Regional Council encourages you to participate in Plogtober, a plogging competition in Kansas City this October. The goal: to beautify our community.

To participate, you can either:

1. Sign up to clean a specific park on Sunday, Oct. 16. There are many parks across the KC metro and a total of eight in Johnson County at which you can participate.
2. Sign up to clean an area of your choosing (like your neighborhood or place of business) on a day of your choice in October.

By participating, you can win prizes and help Johnson County earn the title of Kansas City’s Top Ploggers. Entry is free, and you can register as an individual or a team. Please register by Friday, Oct. 14.

The Kansas City Plogtober Cleanup is a great way to get outdoors and get some exercise while beautifying the community. Trash on the ground and in our parks eventually ends up in our creeks, streams, and rivers, which leads to pollution and can kill wildlife.

“Trash is the most visible of stormwater pollutants, plastic bags, cups, pet waste, food containers and more can have a detrimental affect on our environment. Trash that is put or left on the ground can enter our streamways during periods of rain.” said Water Quality Specialist Ian Fannin-Hughes.

These trash pollutants can be very harmful to wildlife, degrade our drinking water, lead to flooding and impact the beauty of our communities. Fannin-Hughes emphasizes that “if it’s on the ground, it’s in our water.” “Anything that you put on the ground will impact our vital water resources,” he said.

You can participate at the park of your choosing, or in one of these eight parks in Johnson County on Oct. 16:

• Frontier Park in Olathe
• Rock Creek Park in Mission
• Roe Park in Overland Park
• Leawood Park in Leawood
• Meadowbrook Park in Prairie Village
• Nall Park in Roeland Park
• Antioch Park in Merriam
• Shawnee Mission Park in Shawnee and Lenexa

Johnson County had the highest participation of any county in the KC metro during the 2021 plogging competition, and you can help us repeat this achievement in 2022.

Learn more about plogging and the Kansas City Plogtober Cleanup.