46- He Runs to the Train And Picks Up Everything Along the Way — Plogging with Paul Waye

2026-01-08

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Train travel is often praised as a sustainable alternative to flying.But if you’ve spent time around train stations, platforms, and tracks, you’ve probably noticed something else: trash. A lot of it.In this episode of Travel Devil, host Clara Francken sits down with Paul Waye, the world’s first professional plogger - someone who runs and picks up litter at the same time. Recorded on location in the Netherlands, this conversation talkes about why public spaces around trains are so polluted, why cigarette butts are one o...

In this episode of Travel Devil, host Clara Francken sits down with Paul Waye, the world’s first professional plogger - someone who runs and picks up litter at the same time. Recorded on location in the Netherlands, this conversation talkes about why public spaces around trains are so polluted, why cigarette butts are one of the biggest hidden problems, and what behavior change really looks like in everyday life.

Paul shares how plogging started during his daily run to the train station, how it grew into a full-time job, and why the first piece of trash you pick up matters more than how much you collect. Together, Clara and Paul talk about train stations, commuter behavior, deposit systems, smoking bans, and why infrastructure alone isn’t enough if habits don’t change.

In this episode, we talk about:

What plogging actually is
Why trash piles up just outside train stations
The cigarette butt problem most travelers overlook
How deposit systems work in countries like Germany and the Netherlands
Why clean trains don’t always mean clean tracks
Behavior vs. infrastructure in sustainable travel
Simple ways travelers and commuters can make a difference

This episode is a reminder that sustainable travel isn’t only about how you move; it’s also about how you behave once you arrive.

sustainable travel • train travel europe • slow travel • eco travel • cigarette butts pollution • microplastic pollution • sustainable transport • green travel myth • train stations europe • environmental impact travel • travel devil podcast • Clara Francken • plogging • plastic pollution travel • sustainable mobility • public transport sustainability • climate conscious travel • ethical travel europe • travel podcast europe • Paul Waye • plogging train stations

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