Rubbish at keeping fit? Try ‘plogging’

They gave us hygge and lagom; The Killing and The Bridge. Yet the latest Scandi trend to hit Britain is the somewhat less snugly sounding “plogging”. Forget cosy jumpers and roaring fireplaces — the lifestyle must-do du jour involves getting your trainers on and going for a run, while scouring the local park for detritus that you can then dispose of at your leisure.

Plastic is a hot-button social issue, with the war on excessive packaging now so great that even Theresa May (briefly) diverted her attentions from Brussels to propose that supermarket aisles should be free of the stuff come 2043. Celebrities have also lent their voices to the drive, with Lily Cole, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Dame Ellen MacArthur urging us to dial down our reliance on the likes of the single-use bottles that contribute to the truckload of plastic that gets dumped into our oceans every minute. So why not use our rubbish-clogged ecosystem as a workout tool, too? It’s the logical next step for the “slashie” generation — more likely to skew towards career routes such as waiter-slash-entrepreneur-slash-Bitcoin miner, rather than, say, receptionist; a way to do everything all at once. Save the world while toning up. We’re all multitaskers now.

But I’m not writing off plogging just yet, even if my morning’s efforts paled in comparison to those enthusiastically posting on Instagram. “I leave nothing but footprints,” boasts one plogger; another eager group pepper their updates with hashtags including #makeadifference and #teamwork. Because it’s a guaranteed win — a chance to display your eco? credentials and the fact you just worked out. As trends go, they don’t get more 2018 than that.

Planting trees and establishing wildlife ponds are among the conservation efforts of Green Gyms, which have increased in cities by 500 per cent since 2011. There are 100 across the country, which urge people to “connect with nature and their community”.

Chairobics and Strictly Fun Dancing are among the workout options available for users of Oomph, a social enterprise which encourages the elderly to get involved with fitness both to better their health and prevent against isolation.

Running with a purpose — either to the home of an older person whose light bulb needs changing, or who needs furniture moving. A group attend each task, so it’s a social activity both en route and once you reach your destination.