Nature lovers limber up for yoga before joining in the great clean-up 

They aren’t two activities that typically go hand in hand. But for this team of nature lovers, the best way to go litter picking is by limbering up with some yoga. 

Waste-fighting organisation Plastic Patrol hosts regular yoga sessions designed to educate people about the environment and the scourge of waste. 

They are free but attendees must pay a ‘nature tax’ by litter picking afterwards and logging the waste they collect on the Plastic Patrol app. This is designed to gather the world’s largest data sample of plastic pollution. 

It comes just ahead of the Great British September Clean campaign, which begins tomorrow. 

The annual litter pick, organised by Keep Britain Tidy and backed by the Daily Mail, encourages volunteers to help clear their local area of discarded rubbish. 

It’s already had the backing of the Prime Minister, prominent environmental groups and, of course, the Wombles of Wimbledon Common. 

And yoga litter picking is just another way to get involved. Instructor Sarah Malcolm, 29, said that from her experience yoga was an effective way of making people care more for their surroundings. 

She said: ‘Yoga generally attracts those who have a broader mindset about how we can be better. We’re very much friends of the planet.’ 

Miss Malcolm, from Hackney, east London, is one of several instructors for Plastic Patrol. 

The group, which hosts events across the country, also runs classes in paddle boarding, canoeing and plogging, which involves jogging and litter picking. 

Founder Lizzie Carr, 34, said the activities had helped to get a range of people involved in litter picking. 

She said: ‘I have found that our sessions are really educational as it gives people the chance to see the problems first hand. 

‘I think people soon realise small actions can have an enormous ripple effect.’ Miss Carr, of Purley, south London, set up Plastic Patrol after she battled thyroid cancer and became inspired to begin a new way of living. 

She started out with paddle boarding and became the first woman to paddle board solo across the English Channel. 

Almost 300,000 pieces of litter have been logged on the Plastic Patrol app across 85 countries, providing valuable data on where waste originates.

Miss Carr is backing the Great British September Clean and said it was needed now more than ever as the easing of lockdown had seen a spike in wasteful behaviour. 

She added: ‘It really felt like in lockdown people were starting to really appreciate nature and their time outdoors because it was limited. And it feels like that lesson has been forgotten now.’ 

As part of the September Clean you can pledge to litter pick alone, with those you live with or with up to five others. 

Keep Britain Tidy has always said the groups should be no bigger than six, so it will not be affected by the ban on larger gatherings from Monday. 

You must also observe social distancing – a good method is to stay at least a litter-picker length away from each other. There will no public events to join this year.