As we all know, climate change is just around the corner, and the factors contributing to this apocalypse are endless. Oil spills, air pollution, overfishing… you name it. But there’s one small thing that is often overlooked in this big discussion: littering. Whether you left behind that empty Coke can on purpose or not, its impact on the environment is not as minor as you might think.

While currently stranded abroad, in the past two months, a group of friends and I have initiated a program where residents in our city of Jerusalem are invited to volunteer and collect garbage with us. It started when we were hanging out and couldn’t help but notice that the flower pots in my neighborhood were bombarded with trash. From there, we first cleaned out the surroundings of a local high school, with some passing students eagerly joining us. Since then, we’ve been hosting weekly cleanups and our group is nearing 40 participants.

The trash picking group pose with their day’s haul

Two weeks back, we went to a popular spring called Ein Lavan in the Jerusalem hills. The ground was covered in empty beer bottles, there were items of torn clothing in the bushes, and masks were dangling off tree branches. Another time we rummaged through the shores of the Yarkon River and found there were more styrofoam crumbs than soil. Countless pieces of litter collected at the port and were washed up against the river banks. Full-time sanitation workers that we talked to expressed that was too much to handle, and sought all the help they could get.

Many people have asked me why I’m doing this here while abroad when it’s not my country. And to that I say, it’s not my country but it’s my planet. The same goes for anyone in Beijing willing to make a difference, it doesn’t matter if you’re a local or not, it’s not enough to just not litter. It’s also our duty to ensure that others follow suit.

“It’s not my country but it’s my planet”

In Beijing, we often rely on workers in bright orange suits and signature bamboo broomsticks to clean up after us, and we push the responsibility for keeping the city clean to them. It’s become such a big part of our culture in China that even something as simple as going to your local McDonald’s, people just get up and walk away from their trash when they’re done eating, expect the staff to throw it in bins mere meters away. But the overflowing garbage in hutongs, near tourism sites, and particularly in the countryside proves that our trash production is outweighing their cleanup capabilities. Sweeping up the fallen ginkgo leaves is already a heavy enough workload.

While on weekend outings with the family, I’m sure you’ve noticed areas on the way to the Great Wall or the Xiangshan Park, where the city meets the country, that are uncared for and unattended to by workers. Here, you can easily see the bits and pieces of garbage left behind by visiting tourists. Plastic wrappers and empty bottles are not biodegradable, and once scattered in nature, they will cause great harm to the plants and natural habitat.

It’s time we lend a helping hand. I urge you to gather up a group of friends and head to your favorite spot in town. This could be a shopping center, a park, or a rural street on the outskirts of Beijing. Then split up the area and work together. I guarantee you, afterward, the feeling of accomplishment will be overwhelming. And as a bonus, think about all the great exercise you’re adding to your day.

Now you must be thinking, but we’re in the middle of a global pandemic! What if we come across masks and gloves? Do we pick it up or leave it? You can purchase a simple trash picker on Taobao for a couple of RMB or wear rubber gloves and sanitize them immediately after. Always bring hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes in your pocket and use sticks to pry loose garbage trapped in bushes.

KEEP READING: Cleaning up Historical Beijing With the CLUP Club

Photos: Qinglan Du

Back in 2016, a Swedish man named Erik Ahlstrom became so disillusioned with the excessive litter lining his small town that he began snatching up scraps of trash during his daily runs. He dubbed the activity ‘plogging’ a combination of the Swedish phrase ‘plocka upp’ which translates to ‘picking up’, and the slightly more obvious ‘jogging’.

Over the next two years, the environmental health and physical fitness crusade spread across the globe, and reached Chinese mainland in 2018. Plogging Beijing, a group of waste warriors, waging war against the enemies of all that is cleanliness and goodliness.

Ostensibly, plogging, focuses on picking up trash along traditional jogging routes, such as in parks and neighborhoods, one Beijing expat has taken a similar environmental exercise mission to entirely new heights.

Terry Mieremet is a native of the Netherlands who first arrived in Beijing in 2011. Despite living in other cities in China over the next few years, he made his way back to what he calls, “the magnetic field of the Jing” in 2016. Since returning to the Capital, Mieremet has found work taking expats and visitors around the city on bike tours. Moreover, he founded CLUP club, a portmanteau of Cleaning and Up, in which groups go to areas such as the Gubeikou Jinshanling Great Wall and pick up trash in the surrounding nature and watch towers.

Much like with Ahlstrom, the Swedish father of plogging, CLUPing was borne of a frustration with all the trash wantonly discarded in beautiful places, and Mieremet cites a particular trip to Thailand as the inspiration behind his initiative.

“The CLUP is a movement that got created out of necessity,” Mieremet tells beijingkids. “Everywhere I have traveled to, I have seen tourism increase and behavioral change. Now anywhere you go, there is so much plastic rubbish. After my trip to Thailand, where I was shocked by all the trash all over the place, I was like, let’s make social media social again, and let’s spread this message.”

Initially, Mieremet tried various ways to spark a conversation with folks about the impact they were having on otherwise untouched natural areas. However, he quickly realized that if he wanted to truly make an impact, he was going to have to get his hands a little dirty, and encourage others to do the same.

“I tried writing messages or making art with the picked up trash,” says Mieremet, “so that people could see and think twice about what they do. I spoke many times to people to try to ask them why they throw their plastic bottles or other things away.”

Unfortunately, much to Mieremet’s dismay, many of the folks he would speak to didn’t even realize what they were doing. Mieremet decided to pick up the trash, with hopes to inspire others to do the same.

“This became a movement where people can join to help preserve our nature. Now we organize events where we go out to a pristine nature area and bring bags to pick up the trash that has been thrown out by people on their hikes or leisure activity.”

Those events have not only included Mieremet’s own circle of friends and CLUPpers, but even organizations as big as the British Embassy, who joined him for an outing at the Jiankou Sky Stairs section of the Great Wall. What’s more, late last year, parents at Western Academy of Beijing (WAB) got in touch with Mieremet, hoping to get their kids involved in a CLUP event. Unfortunately, the bitter cold of Beijing’s winter swept across the city, followed by the social distancing and quarantine regulations of COVID-19, forcing the plan to take a backseat until things get better.

Nevertheless, Mieremet is eager to get more students and families involved, “to get the younger generations out of the house and away from any electronic devices, just to be outside and active.”

The before and after

While working with schools and local organizations is a milestone in large scale events, the work of individuals can have an equally large impact, both on a personal level, and for the community. In fact, Mieremet credits the CLUP movement with significantly improving health and wellbeing, by encouraging participants to be more physically active and helping the environment in their free time.

“CLUP is a different lifestyle,” says Mieremet. “Many people always went to the club and that was their weekend. But now they can join the CLUP, go somewhere in nature, be outside, make new friends and clean up,” adding, “You will feel healthy, satisfied and fulfilled after.”

There’s no doubt that CLUPing is a uniquely positive activity, with untold benefits for our physical, emotional, and environmental wellbeing. And as Mieremet explains, “I think anybody and everybody can and should get involved. It’s not only about the deed, but also the example you set.”

“This is a more-the-merrier thing, and if we all do something it will make a huge difference. Also, if we can pass over messages where we inform others of the consequences, we could slowly be breaking the habit of, ‘somebody else will pick it up,’ or, ‘nobody will see what I just did.’”

As for getting involved, Mieremet advises that, “you can join the CLUP on WeChat (ID: Terdemier), and if you want to do any events please connect with us or bring your own crew and go out somewhere. Even with some friends or with the family, this gives a physical challenge to your normal outing, and great rewards in the teamwork and result you have made.”

KEEP READING: How Fitness and Environmental Justice Became One

Photos: Courtesy of Terry Mieremet 

This article appeared in the beijingkids 2020 May issue