Vivek Gurav never imagined that what started as a mission to clean his city of litter would eventually win him an award in the UK. He founded the "Pune Ploggers" plogging Community in India in 2018, and it already has over 10,000 members who have gathered over 1 million kg of trash. 

Plogging which combines “jogga” (jogging) with “plocka upp” (a pick-up) is a Swedish concept. In simple terms, it means picking up litter while jogging. When Gurav accepted his scholarship position at Bristol University in September of last year, he made the decision to carry on the tradition. Since then, according to his university, he has driven to 30 UK locations and logged over 420 miles on 120 plogging "missions" with volunteers from 180 different nations.

In a telephonic interview from London, Gurav told the Times of India that picking up litter was a simple and easy thing but it also helps to demonstrate that individual actions can be the solution to protecting the environment and that people themselves can go beyond government policy.

It's interesting to note that, in comparison to Indian cities, he does not believe that streets in western cities are litter-free. Western cities exhibit a strong consumerism culture, and there is a lot of litter on the streets. Speaking with people about it has helped in bringing attention to it and other more significant environmental issues.

His actions earned him the Points of Light Award from 10 Downing Street earlier this year, which recognizes individuals making a difference in their communities. Gurav was honored for organizing more than 140 volunteers to clear more than 3,750 kg of rubbish through his 250 running challenges throughout Bristol.