PAWS ON PLASTIC ANNUAL REPORT
For Submission with Annual Accounts Covering the Financial Period
1[st ] April 2024 - 31[st ] March 2025
Trustees
The following Trustees served during the year:
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Accounts Prepared By
JK Bookkeeping Services
33 Meadow View
Kildrum
Cumbernaul
d
G67 2BZ
NOTE FROM FOUNDER/CHAIR
With over 12 million dogs in the UK and increasing awareness of the environmental problems caused by litter, trustees remain convinced that our charity has huge potential. Already with 27,000 members and followers by March 2025, (an increase of 1,000 in this financial year) picking up only the minimum of two pieces of litter on the average of two daily walks, that adds up to 39.5 million pieces of litter removed from the environment annually. The mental health benefit of taking a simple, positive action that only takes a minute but makes an immediate and visible difference is also significant while our Members Survey of 2022 also revealed that it has the further effect of encouraging a reduction in personal purchase of single use plastics.
This year the charity expanded its events programme across Scotland including for the first time, the GWCT Scottish Game Fair at Scone Palace and P in the Park in Midlothian in addition to expanding its regular events in Aberdeenshire in order to reach
more dog owners in the Central Belt and spread awareness of the charity's aims and ways that people can get involved.
Activities at the PAWS ON PLASTIC stand were also expanded to include a brand new Selfie Station with a selection of dress up items which proved to be a real hit in addition to the popular litterpick challenge. Raffles proved to be a popular fundraising activity and the charity was delighted to be invited to run one of STONEHAVEN BUSINESS ASSOCIATION’s summer car boot sales which
generated good income. Trustees were also delighted to enter a team of 4 to walk the KILTWALK in Dundee which attracted publicity and funding as well as the great social aspect of walking as a group. This is something that it is hoped to build on.
Collaborations were developed with charities and organisations which trustees considered aligned with our aims and values. The biggest event was the charity inviting KEEP SCOTLAND BEAUTIFUL (KSB) to host a joint workshop at the SCVO Charity Conference in Edinburgh in February 2025 (kindly funded by KSB) encouraging fellow charities to build litterpicking into their events programme. It also served as a means to develop links with charities engaged in environmental, mental health and community activities. The workshop directly led to meetings with SCOTTISH SPCA and collaborations later in the year.
A litter campaign with Aberdeenshire Council involved improved signage on bins along Stonehaven seafront and press coverage.
The continued collaboration with the community group PLASTIC FREE STONEHAVEN, of which the founder/chair is also Lead, and the continuance of the monthly joint community beach cleans has maintained a high level of visibility within the local community in Aberdeenshire and strengthened the charity’s profile in the wider UK environmental community.
Links with schools were further developed by visits and litterpicks with MACKIE ACADEMY, ARDUTHIE PRIMARY and MILL O’FOREST PRIMARY in Stonehaven and MILE END PRIMARY SCHOOL in Aberdeen which had an assembly with 600 pupils, making it the largest event held. The largest litterpick was conducted with 100 guides, brownies and rainbows across Stonehaven.
Much media attention was received by the charity in March 2025 following the founder/chair winning a 'FEMALE FOUNDER’ award which gave a boost to the charitv’s profile.
Trustees were delighted to again have received monthly donations from ADIOS PLASTIC via 1% FOR THE PLANET and also for donations from STONEHAVEN & DISTRICT ROTARY CLUB, LAURENCEKIRK & DISTRICT ROTARY CLUB, THISTLE WIND PARTNERS and STONEHAVEN MIDSUMMER BEER HAPPENING which supported our educational and promotional activities. Good control of finances are maintained allowing the wide range of activities to take place with the bank balance at 31[st] March 2025 £1,892.35.
FUTURE PLANS
The charity’s overall aim remains to make picking up litter a normal part of a dog walk. It aims to build on our existing collaborations & develop new ones and to develop a strategy for the next 3 years and run a regular programme of events.
Efforts will continue to expand our membership via a strong social media campaign and regularly updating the website which saw a full revamp and update in April 2025. The launch of a new Volunteer Programme will encourage & expand membership and the sense of belonging, firstly in Aberdeenshire and then across Scotland and beyond, once an effective structure is in place.
A huge thanks must go to our amazing members who continue to pick up litter every day on walks and who have helped to create such a friendly, positive and supportive community of dog lovers and also to our fabulous Trustees who put so much time and effort into supporting all our charity’s activities throughout the year.
We very much look forward to continuing our work and expanding our reach and impact over the year ahead.
Founder/Chair
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TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT
Listed below are specific actions over the course of the year. It should be noted that all our activities are designed to support our charitable aims – the protection of animals, communities and the environment by encouraging dog owners to pick up litter on walks. In addition, all activities have an educational element which is our fourth charitable aim.
SUMMARY OF CHARITY ACTIVITIES
Educaton
The main new activity was involvement in the Youth and Philanthropy Initiative (YPI) managed and funded in Scottish Secondary Schools by THE WOOD FOUNDATION. YPI is the biggest independent initiative being delivered in Scottish education. Each school is responsible for directing a grant of £3,000 to a local charity championed by its students through a unique programme of teamwork, research, and competition.
The founder/chair represented the charity at MACKIE ACADEMY Sustainability Fair for 1[st] Year Pupils and the YPI Fair for 2[nd] Year Pupils, holding 3 litterpicks with pupils who selected Paws on Plastic as their designated charity.
Strong links were also made with ABERDEEN UNIVERSITY CAREERS and EMPLOYABILITY SERVICE resulting in the charity’s first attendance at ABERDEEN UNIVERSITY’s Volunteering Fair and the establishment of a 7 week funded Student Internship hosted by Paws on Plastic focussed on further developing the charity’s social media output, with particular focus on young people. The internship will run April – May 2025.
Talks are a key means of educating on the consequences of littering and a total of 11 talks were made to 1,210 people including 1,012 primary school pupils and 12 Explorer Scouts. Other organisations for which talks were conducted were URY RIVERSIDE PARK SCIO, STONEHAVEN MENS SHED, the ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY, STONEHAVEN & DISTRICT ROTARY CLUB, PETROFAC, MACULAR SUPPORT GROUP and SURFERS AGAINST SEWAGE Plastic Free Communities Leads.
Protecton of Animals, Communites & the Environment - Media/Exhibitons/SociaI Media
Good media coverage was maintained with features on a wide range of Scottish and UK wide media including STV NEWS, THAT’s TV SCOTLAND, the PRESS & JOURNAL, DAILY RECORD, HERALD SCOTLAND, K9 MAGAZINE, EDITION DOG MAGAZINE, AYR ADVERTISER, EVENING EXPRESS, NORTHSOUND RADIO, THE BELLMAN, ABERDEEN LIVE and NET ZERO SCOTLAND.
The charity was also featured in a documentary entitled, ‘SHAPING OUR SHORES’. Created in collaboration with ESSBEEFLIX STUDIOS and CALEDONIAN HORTICULTURE and narrated by the film follows the journeys of passionate individuals and organisations dedicated to tackling plastic pollution and restoring Scotland’s shoreline.
A total of 20 events were attended with stands at MACKIE ACADEMY Sustainability Fair & YPI Fair plus events organised by KEEP SCOTLAND BEAUTIFUL, SCVO, NESCAN, STONEHAVEN COMMUNITY COLLECTIVE, KINCARDINE DEVELOPMENT PARTNERSHIP, P IN THE PARK< GWCT GAME FAIR, CELEBRATE ABERDEEN, STONEHAVEN & DISTRICT FIRE STATION and UNIVERSITY OF ABERDEEN.
Protecton of Animals, Communites & the Environment - Literpicks/Beach Cleans
The charity is unable to precisely gauge the complete impact from the activities of its members and followers as very few count the number of pieces of litter removed on walks every day with their dogs. As a low average we calculate the impact by means of the request to members to pick up 2 pieces of litter on walks. When members were asked how often they walked their dogs, the average was twice daily, making 4 pieces of litter daily, and 1,460 pieces of litter removed by each member every year, although we know that large numbers far exceed that as the act tends to become an addictive daily habit – the charity’s actual aim.
The charity’s conservative impact is therefore that, with 27,000 members and followers, this equates to 39,420,000 pieces of litter being removed from the environment in the past year. It is the reason for the importance in spreading the charity’s message and encouraging more dog owners to get involved. When there are lots of people picking up litter in the same area it actually reduces the amount of litter dropped as the easy excuse that ‘everyone does it’ has been removed. Studies show that fewer people drop litter in clean areas so removing it regularly has a double effect.
Between April 2024 – March 2025, Paws on Plastic organised 18 joint community beach cleans/litterpicks with PLASTIC FREE STONEHAVEN which involved 512 volunteers and removed 875 kgs of waste from Stonehaven’s beach and parks.
The charity organised a further 14 cleans which involved 406 volunteers and removed 70 kgs of waste from Stonehaven and Aberdeen’s beach and parks, making an annual total of
32 cleans involving 918 volunteers which removed 945 kgs of waste.
The Founder/Chair also represented the charity at beach cleans/litterpicks organised by COMMUNITY CLEAN UP, DUNNOTTAR WOODLAND PARK ASSOCIATION, and the MARINE CONSERVATION SOCIETY.
These activities clearly demonstrate the charity’s strength and impact towards achieving its 4 charitable aims. Activities between April 2024 – March 2025 have expanded, the charity’s profile has grown and its impact increased. As a charity run solely by volunteers , the workload is demanding and plans will involve how best to support this moving forward
APPENDIX 2 Paws on Plastic -c No. tEI(Y4V sc OSCR Receipts and payments accounts For the period from to Scottth Charty Regulator Year 01 2024 31 03 2025 Section A Statement of receipts and payments Unrestrlcted funds Expendable endowment funds Permanent endowment funds Restricted funds Total funds current perlod Total funds last period to n•arest £ to n•arnst£ A1 Recei ts Donations acies 2,236 2,236 Grants Recel ts from fundralsln actlvltles 2,603 2.603 Gross tradin recei ts Income from investments other than land and buildin Rents from land & buildin Gross receipts from other charitable activities Al Sub total 4,839 4,839 A2 Receipts from asset & investment sales PrOed$ from sale of fixed assets Proceeds from sale of investments A2 Sub total Total recelpts 4,839 4,839 A3 Payments
APPENDIX 2 Expenses for fundraising activities Gross trading payments Investrnent management costs Payments relating directly to charitable activities Grants and donations 3,921 3.921 312 312 Govemance costs: Audit l independent examination Preparation of annual accounts Legal costs other (public liabilty Insurance) 200 200 272 272 A3 Sub total 4,705 4,705 A4 Payments relating to asset and investment movements Purchases of fixed assets Purchase of Investments A4 Sub total Total payments 4,705 4,705 Net recelpts / (payments) 134 134 A5 Transfers to l (from) funds Surplus / (deflclt) for year 134 134
JK Bookkeeping Services 22nd December 2025 Paws on Plastic - Accounts A ril 2024-March 2025 can confimi that JK Bookkeeping Services. have carried the detailed OSCR receipts and payments accounts, for the full financial year, on all the relevant banking transactions. Please consider this letter as confimiation that the enclosed documents, details a true and accurate reflection of all transactions presented. Yours faithfully
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Paws On Plastic
Summary of Bank Statements
Mar-25
Transaction Trans y In Money Out lance
date Description Details Type (£) (£) (£)
1st Mar 2025 Balance b/f £2,582.52
Justgiving 4321121 Paws
3rd Mar 2025 On Pl 2648459005413036CN Legacies FPI £97.80 £2,680.32
25th Mar 2025 Justgiving Subs JG03211283 Expenses for fundraising activities DD £18.00 £2,662.32
Policybee Ltd Clie
25th Mar 2025 500000001530469689 14934111 Legal Costs FPO £263.56 £2,398.76
Barklove Ltd
25th Mar 2025 100000001521311139 Invoice Expenses for fundraising activities FPO £45.00 £2,353.76
Pawride Ltd
25th Mar 2025 400000001535323127 0000009 Expenses for fundraising activities FPO £156.00 £2,197.76
Justgiving 4369975 Paws
31st Mar 2025 On Pl 2760183184611355CN Legacies FPI £97.80 £2,295.56
31st Mar 2025 100000001525421655 Expenses for fundraising activities FPO £91.22 £2,204.34
4Imprint Direct Li Payments relating directly to charitable
31st Mar 2025 600000001534321810 00652518 activities FPO £311.99 £1,892.35
£1,892.35
£1,892.35
£1,892.35
£1,892.35
£1,892.35
£1,892.35
£1,892.35
£1,892.35
£1,892.35
£1,892.35
£1,892.35
£1,892.35
£1,892.35
£1,892.35
£1,892.35
£1,892.35
£1,892.35
£1,892.35
£1,892.35
£1,892.35
31st Mar 2025 Balance c/f £1,892.35
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