This month Story Weaver Lesley Anne Rose chatted with Marion Montgomery from Stonehaven in North East Scotland about the amazing initiative Paws on Plastic which Marion set up in 2018. Her aim was to make taking environmental action a part of everyday life and champion the power of collective action. All of which means that a small act can make a big difference if it’s part of a wider movement. It’s an easy new year’s resolution to pick up a couple of pieces of litter every time you walk your dog. So why not join, follow and make a simple, but big difference (social media details below).
Tell us about Paws on Plastic
Paws on Plastic revolves around the simple, but effective idea of using daily dog walks as an opportunity to pick up a few bits of litter. Making picking up litter a normal part of everyday life. It all started as a Facebook group in 2018 and has grown to 26,000 members and followers from over 70 countries, across Facebook, Instagram and other social media platforms. Paws on Plastic celebrated their sixth birthday in November and have been a charity for three years.
Simplicity is the strength of the initiative. Most dog walkers already pick up after their pooch. Paws on Plastic simply askes people to also pick up a couple of pieces litter with the suggestion of having an extra re-usable bag with you to do just that. Thus bringing an environmental aspect to something many people already do. Marion has calculated that if all of their members and followers walk their dogs twice a day and pick up two pieces of litter each time, a whooping 38 million pieces of litter are picked up every year from our streets, beaches, parks and countryside.
Paws on Plastic is run entirely by volunteers and also organises regular beach cleans in Stonehaven as well as undertake school visits to spread the word about the environmental harm caused by marine plastic. They make it all fun by organising litter picking challenges and reward cards to encourage people to come along, offering a certificate for every five beach cleans undertaken. Local business now get in touch to ask about being part of beach cleans and how to organise ones for their staff.
Paws on Plastic also support fellow environmental charities including Keep Scotland Beautiful, SSPCA and Surfers Against Sewage.
What inspired you to take your first step to setting up Paws on Plastic?
Paws on Plastic started with Marion being off sick from work and forcing herself to go out each day to walk her dog. On each walk she’d notice litter and eventually thought “why don’t I just pick that up?” At the same time she was inspired by an online British Council course about plastic pollution she was undertaking and from this Paws on Plastic was born, initially as a Facebook group which just kept on growing and growing.
Marion is clear that most people who drop litter don’t think about the consequences. This encouraged her to set up Paws on Plastic as a charity so education could become part of their remit.
“Litter has become normal, but it’s not. Dropping litter isn’t normal. All we do is encourage people to take responsibility and make it possible for them to do so without much effort.”
Marion now works closely with schools and nurseries encouraging them to sign up to a plastic free campaign. Paws on Plastic also get out and about around Scotland attending fairs and exhibitions and even P in the Park.
What do you think is the greatest impact Paws on Plastic has made?
One aspect of Paws on Plastic Marion is keen to share is the mental health benefits. The charity is underpinned by a belief in building a friendly and supportive culture and the mental health benefits of taking simple actions are huge. It’s easy to feel helpless in terms of the environment, but when you pick up litter you can instantly see the difference and know that the bit of litter you’ve picked up isn’t going to end up in the sea or hurt an animal. Paws on Plastic’s regular beach cleans are social and fun.
“By knowing you’re part of a wider movement, you know that collectively it’s making a big difference.”
Marion estimates that their monthly beach cleans over the past two years have removed around 1000 kilos of waste from Stonehaven’s beach, which hasn’t gone unnoticed by the town’s street sweepers. Marion’s clear that litter breeds litter. If people don’t see litter on the street, they don’t drop it. Making the act of picking up it up have a ripple effect in deterring people from dropping it. The more people who see that a litter free town is normal, the better it is for everyone. Stonehaven achieved Plastic Free Community status from Surfers Against Sewage in June this year.
People have also reflected that picking up litter, either while walking their dog or on a beach clean, has simultaneously made them start to think more about the choices they make in everyday life and the plastics they use. A Paws on Plastic members’ survey revealed that reducing the use of single use plastic had been one of the main impacts of getting involved. Some members have also started their own litter picking groups.
Marion is often asked what the strangest thing she’s found on a beach clean.
“It varies from iron bars, to big welly boots, bits of bikes and ironing boards as well as fishing gear. However, when it’s stormy weather you really get a sense of the litter that’s in the sea. Paws on Plastic beach cleans picked double the amount of litter in the first two months of 2024 than they had for the whole of the previous year because of storms.”
What story from Paws on Plastic you would like to share?
Marion is a big believer in the Toothbrush Test, a test used by Larry Sage, CEO of Google to decide which companies he likes if he has the potential opportunity to acquire them.
The test is simple and based on a single question – is the product/concept, like a toothbrush, something people will use/do once or twice a day? If it is then it’s a sustainable idea/habit as it’s something that will fit in with daily life and become routine – like brushing your teeth.
Paws on Plastic as a concept passes the Toothbrush Test. It’s taking something that people do every day without thinking, in this case walking their dog, and adding a simple extra thing on to it. In this case picking litter. Making it easy for people to do that extra thing automatically too without much extra effort. That’s a sustainable idea
What’s your advice/tips for other people or community groups wanting to start to take collective action against a changing climate?
Marion is a firm believer that if an opportunity to do good is created then people are amazing. She encourages everyone to simply get out and do something as every action, no matter how small or sometimes imperfect, has an impact.
“People respond when things are made easy for them. People are now asking Paw on Plastic for litter pickers so they can take action themselves during the week. If we hadn’t made it easy for them to turn up, they wouldn’t have thought to do it themselves.”
Paws on Plastic reflects the principle that you can’t be what you don’t see. The work they undertake demonstrates just how easy it can be to take a small action that makes a big difference.
Is there anything else you’d like to share?
Marion would love to encourage people to spread the word about Paws on Plastic. It’s for all ages and easy to get involved and have a go.
As she says,
“taking positive action against the impacts of climate change is a personal journey and none of us can do it alone. If we all do a little it adds up and the impact is bigger.”
She’s clear that it’s important to concentrate on getting people involved and that the community aspect is very important. It all adds up if we all add a few people on social media.
New Year is the busiest time for Paws on Plastic as it attracts new members and followers as people make their new year resolutions. So why not join the Paws on Plastic community, pick up litter, recycle what you can and spread the word to encourage others. Every single piece of litter really does make a difference!
We’re social:
Website https://pawsonplastic.org.uk/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/share/1DuNrzWXuw/?mibextid=LQQJ4d
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/pawsonplastic/profilecard/?igsh=MTFwdWFjNmZ1aHhjeQ==
X @pawsonplastic
Blue Sky https://bsky.app/profile/pawsonplastic.bsky.social
LinkedIn paws-on-plastic