Dog owners making a wonderful New Year Resolution have soared the ranks of the campaign to 23,000. The environmental dog charity encourages dog owners to pick up a couple of pieces of litter on every day, removing over 34 million pieces of litter a year from our streets, beaches, parks and countryside.
Founded in Stonehaven, NE Scotland, in November 2018 by Primary School Teacher, Marion Montgomery, Paws on Plastic has hit a cord among dog owners keen to play their part in fighting plastic pollution, attracting new members and followers on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter & LinkedIn.
“We’ve had an unbelievable start to the year!” explained Marion. “January can be a hard month for many people, and New Year Resolutions often fall by the wayside by now. Picking up a few pieces of litter is such a simple but extremely satisfying thing to do when we’re out anyway walking our dogs. It’s fantastic for mental health – really empowering and satisfying to take a simple positive action that has an immediate and visible impact.”
“The strength of Paws on Plastic really is its simplicity”
It just shows the real desire among dog owners to protect wildlife and our precious environment from harm. We are all busy nowadays and it’s often hard to find the time for things. The beauty of Paws on Plastic is that no extra time or effort is required as it only takes a minute to pick up a couple of pieces of litter as part of your everyday dog walking routine.
“The strength of Paws on Plastic really is its simplicity.” says Marion “Dog owners are already out there walking their dogs every day. We see the litter. As responsible dog owners, we have a spare bag in our pocket & it just takes a second to pick up a couple of pieces. With 23,000 of us, just picking up 2 pieces of litter on 2 daily walks, that’s over 92,000 pieces a day, or around 34 MILLION a year although, most people pick up more as it is rather addictive! With over 13 million dogs in the UK alone, imagine the impact if we all did our own small bit.”
The group has now spread to nearly 80 countries in 6 continents around the world, showing the worldwide desire among dog owners to do play their part. Dogs, like many animals, are naturally attracted to litter, with many picking up plastic bottles and cans. Once your dog has played with one, it’s up to you to dispose of it carefully.
Education on the consequences of litter is also one of the Charity’s key aims and Marion has been busy this year already with a visit with Paddy the Labrador to Portlethen Primary School and a Live Lesson via Eco Schools which around 90 primary schools across Scotland tuned into.o join us, search for Paws on Plastic
You can also register for updates using the link on our website . Members are responsible for keeping themselves and any accompanying companions safe. All pieces picked up are helping to reduce the amount of plastic ending up in the sea