Dog owners beating the January blues as Paws on Plastic membership soars

Paws on Plastic founder, Marion Montgomery.

The environmental dog charity encourages dog owners to pick up a couple of pieces of litter on every walk, every day, removing over 34 million pieces of litter a year from our streets, beaches, parks and countryside.

Founded in Stonehaven 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 and 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.

“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.”

Marion continued: “The strength of Paws on Plastic really is its simplicity.

“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 two pieces of litter on two 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 six 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.

To join the campaign, search for ‘Paws on Plastic’ on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

You can also register for updates using the link on our website pawsonplastic.org.uk.

Members are responsible for keeping themselves & any accompanying companions safe.

All pieces picked up are helping to reduce the amount of plastic ending up in the sea.