• Student
  • 12/01/2026
  • Nederlands

Picking up litter together helps students break the ice

Making new friends while cleaning up the TU/e campus together—that’s the idea for this coming Wednesday. A group of four students is organizing a clean-up walk especially for international students. “It’s a low-threshold way to meet new people while also doing something good for the campus.”

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photo iStock / SDI Productions

Cleaning up while walking even has an official term: plogging (a combination of picking up litter and jogging or—in this case—walking). It’s an activity frequently organized by volunteer organization Troep Troopers. The Eindhoven-based initiative has been hosting plogging sessions throughout the city for years, but this Wednesday’s edition is an exception: it is specifically aimed at international students from Fontys and TU/e.

Especially for students

“For a study assignment, three fellow students and I had to organize an event for Troep Troopers,” says Camiel Wouda, a Communication student at Fontys. “Normally, Troep Troopers events mainly attract older participants, who are often regular volunteers. We thought: let’s organize a special edition for international students and, besides cleaning up, really focus on creating connections.”

From left to right, the team: Sven Liebregts, Jules Nijland, Lieke Verhoeven en Camiel Wouda. Photo | private collection

According to Wouda, international students were chosen as the target group because they are usually new to campus and looking for accessible ways to meet others. “That said,” he adds, “Dutch students are of course more than welcome to join as well.”

Pizza and games

To encourage social interaction, Wouda and his teammates have added several game elements along the plogging route. “We start with a warm-up and there are games that participants can play together while walking. We have also hidden a number of golden cups along the route. If you find one, you get a coupon for a free pizza at Domino’s,” Wouda explains. 

To celebrate all the new connections, the event concludes with drinks at the sports café. What starts with a litter picker and a trash bag, ends with pizza, new faces, and—hopefully—a few lasting connections.

The plogging event takes place on Wednesday 14 January, from 13:00 to 16:00h. Registration is possible here.

This article was translated using AI-assisted tools and reviewed by an editor

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