Four years of Paws on Plastic

The Paws on Plastic campaign turned four on Sunday, November 20, and there are over 22,000 reasons to celebrate.

Labradors Ted and Paddy cleaning up Mineralwell Park, Stonehaven.

To mark the day, Paws on Plastic asked dog owners to pick up four pieces of litter while walking their dogs on Sunday, to post a beautiful photo on their social media using ♯pawsonplastic and to tag four friends or invite them to join the Facebook members’ group or follow Paws on Plastic on Instagram, Twitter or LinkedIn.

With 13.5 million dogs in the UK, the potential is huge!

Imagine the impact if we all took a couple of minutes when we are out walking anyway.

Paws on Plastic was founded in 2018 by teacher, Marion Montgomery

Paws on Plastic celebrations will continue with an online Giveaway Draw for donated prizes from a range of dog related and eco-friendly businesses plus a Christmas event at The Haven, Market Square, Stonehaven on Saturday, December 3 10am-2pm.

There event will include a Christmas Doggy Photoshoot run by ‘Jane Leiper Photography’ (pre-booking essential), a Guess the Dog’s Birthday Competition to win an amazing Christmas cake donated by ‘O’Caykx’ in Portlethen and beautiful Christmas Cards for sale featuring an exclusive design by ‘A Dog Walker Draws’.

Founded in Stonehaven in November 2018 by Primary School Teacher, Marion Montgomery, Paws on Plastic, became a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCO51306) in September 2021.

The charity encourages dog owners to pick up a few pieces of litter on walks to protect animals, communities and our precious environment and it also educates on the consequences of littering, going into both primary and secondary schools & attending various dog shows and community events in order to spread the message further.

“It’s fantastic how Paws on Plastic has continued to grow since becoming a charity last year.” said Marion.

“We have been able to secure funding from Scotmid Coop, Arnold Clark and Stonehaven Town Partnership allowing us to develop more effective promotional materials to support our campaigns.

"We have also conducted a members’ questionnaire from which an action plan and marketing plan is being produced to guide our strategic plan in the years to come.

"We continue to work closely with organisations such as Keep Scotland Beautiful, Scottish SPCA, Keep Britain Tidy, Surfers against Sewage and the Marine Conservation Society in addition to all our fantastic local community organisations here in Stonehaven which recently saw Stonehaven win Best Coastal Town, Gold Award from Keep Scotland Beautiful judges.”

“I would like to say a huge thank you to my family, friends and all our members and followers for all their efforts in cleaning up their communities." Marion continued.

“Every single piece of litter removed makes a difference.

"The strength of Paws on Plastic is its simplicity. As dog owners, we’re already out there walking our dogs every day. We see the litter. We have a spare bag in our pocket & it just takes a second to pick up a couple of pieces.

"No extra time or effort is required yet if we all do our own wee bit, with 22,000 of us, across over 70 countries worldwide just picking up two pieces of litter on two walks, adds up to over 30 million pieces of litter 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 it!”

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.

To find our more visit pawsonplastic.org.uk/, search Paws on Plastic on Facebook or on Instagram.