An event is planned for Fontvieille where runners pick up rubbish while out jogging. The event will also take place in other cities. When he goes out jogging, Sébastien Uscherpicks up rubbish, alongside more than 12,000 other joggers. He has organised an event to highlight these actions on Sunday 29th of January at Fontvieille.
He opens a small bag. A label, a can, and other dirty objects come out. Sébastien Uscher has just run a kilometre along the Promenade du Soleil in Menton. And while running he took this opportunity to pick up waste, as he does every time. Sébastien Uscher is not alone in doing this. More and more people are taking advantage of their time spent jogging in order to collect rubbish. Runners are organised around a Facebook group, Run EcoTeam, created by a French jogger, which has more than 12,000 members. They also received a boost when Mark Zuckerberg, the head of the social network, took notice and talked about the group. It’s clear that this has led to a lot of visibility.
“Tons of waste”
Sébastien Uscher is the ambassador for the group in the south-east of France and in Monaco. On Sunday, he has organized a running event with the starting point at the Fontvieille Decathlon (at 10 o’clock) that will continue towards La Mala beach in Cap-d’Ail, for an outing of about 7 kilometres.
They will do the same as the other members of the Facebook group: pick up waste, post photos on the social network, throw away the rubbish. “We are well aware that this is not the place to pick up the most waste,” explained the Menton resident, who also works at the Monaco Decathlon. “But it is a route that allows us to communicate.” A key element of the approach is to encourage the joggers, in turn, to pick up waste during their individual runs. Because “with 15,000 runs a week, we’re talking about tons of garbage that can be picked up,” said the 31-year-old AS Monaco triathlete. And the movement is spreading, since similar outings will be organised in 44 cities. He emphasises the spontaneous side of this approach.
“Runners with some common sense”
“We are not activists. We are not politicized. We are just runners with a bit of common sense,” said Uscher, who “has become aware of quite a few things since becoming a dad”. And he is saddened to pick up cans, lids, and fast food wrappers during his jogs by the sea in Menton or along the Sentier des Douaniers. He states, however, that “the idea is not to become a bin man.” But to highlight the importance of this approach, another race on the same principle will be organized in Menton and will take place on 12th of February. And in the meantime, the Facebook group is likely to have attracted more members.
So for those near Fontvieille next weekend you have an opportunity at this event to help pick up rubbish while you go jogging, or you can donate to the organization or show your support on Facebook.
Photo source: www.osteosportmesanger.com/run-eco-team/
