More than 1,100 kilos of rubbish recovered at the new meeting of the Nationale-Nederlanden Plogging Tour circuit in Ibiza.
- The event was a celebration that brought together sport, the environment and solidarity, where the participants were able to take part in a variety of sporting activities.
- The event, presented on Friday at the Ibiza Council headquarters, with the attendance of representatives from AETIB, Eivissa Town Hall, Sant Josep de sa Talaia Town Hall and Varo Hernández, the Spanish BMX Freestyle Champion, was inaugurated this morning by Clara Muñoz, an Ibiza sportswoman and four-time Spanish and European FlySky champion and runner-up.
On Sunday 29th October, the island of Ibiza was the setting for the start of the fourth edition of the Nationale-Nederlanden Plogging Tour, which in recent years has become a benchmark for lovers of sport and nature.
The event was a party full of activities that brought together sport, the environment and solidarity. Under the slogan 'Do Sport for the Planet', hundreds of ploggers participated in the circuits that had been prepared for the occasion. Entire families, groups of friends, companies, educational centres and popular sportsmen and women ran or walked routes of between 2 and 11 kilometres, depending on the chosen modality, collecting the waste they found along the way.
Starting at Julià Verdera square at 10:00 a.m., the race kicked off with the traditional ribbon-cutting ceremony, which was led by the sportswoman Clara Muñoz and the Vila Town Councillors for Sports and the Environment, Ana Ferrer and Jordi Grivé.
All proceeds from the sale of the bibs will go to social solidarity for the benefit of APNEEF (Association of People with Special Needs of Ibiza and Formentera).
Plogging Campus
Throughout the day there was also a full programme of activities for young and old in the Plogging Campus area. Fitness and zumba classes, art, reuse and recycling workshops with textile, plastic and cardboard waste, a space to discover local biodiversity through Virtual Reality technology, an exhibition of sculptures made with "waste", gymkhana and collaborative games for children and a sports court where several exhibitions and a Nordic walking and badminton masterclass took place, which generated great excitement among the public.
The event was held as part of the celebration of World Ecology Day, which will take place on 1 November, and thanks to the participation of citizens, residents, visitors and local entities, more than 1,100 kilos of waste were recovered in the circuits between the Ses Figueretes promenade and the Ses Salines Natural Park. The event has contributed to providing interesting content to extend the tourist season, to continue promoting active and regenerative tourism in Ibiza and the Balearic Islands as a whole, and to encourage circularity, sport and physical activity among the population, regardless of age or physical condition.
Nationale-Nederlanden Plogging Tour national circuit
Ibiza was the last event of this year's Nationale-Nederlanden Plogging Tour, which has already held 30 events in Spain, highlighting, together with the Consejo Superior de Deportes (CSD), Ibiza, the Agencia de Estrategia Turística de las Islas Baleares (AETIB) and with the support of the town councils of Vila and Sant Josep de sa Talaia, the unique potential of sport to build a new tourism model, combat sedentarism, achieve cohesive territories and make society feel like a member of an active and healthy community.
Nationale-Nederlanden Plogging Tour, which has been recognised this year 2023 with the Fitur Next Award, among more than 250 initiatives from all over the world, and with the El Corredor Award, has the collaboration of the insurance company Nationale-Nederlanden which, as main sponsor, ratifies its commitment to the wellbeing of people and the care of the planet, of Ibiza and of the AETIB; as well as Decathlon, an entity that celebrates 10 years of Environmental Volunteering with the commitment to protect biodiversity, Herbusa, Voluntaris d'Eivissa, Fomento de Turismo, the Ecólatras de Ecovidrio community, and Garmin as the official watch.
Since 2019, more than 53,000 kilos of waste have been recovered during the practice of different sports such as running, hiking, kayaking, cycling or canoeing. Thanks to the participation of more than 22,000 citizens and hundreds of entities and companies that make up the Nationale-Nederlanden Plogging Tour community in Spain.
