04/04/2024
3 years ago today, we saw first hand the real danger and the impact of littering.
A new and inquisitive labrador puppy is learning about the world and to do so, is using her mouth. She's constantly picking things up, it's funny at first - she's got a plastic bottle! 😂
But it quickly became no laughing matter.
Next she picked up...a full tube of superglue, and she bit down on it. Hard. 😱
Before we could even tell what had happened, super glue oozed out into her mouth and started to stick her tongue, gums and lips together. We frantically tried to wipe away as much as possible to remove as much as we could. We then rushed to the vets where an alcohol solution and a deep clean was performed to remove all the hardened excess of glue.
An unsettled night and an upset stomach followed. She made a full recovery a day later but one thing was on my mind. 🚮
"Why was this on the floor? Why didn't it get put in the bin properly?!"
I understand now that the super glue was likely accidentally dropped from someones pocket but it sparked a change for us. The puppy keeps picking up litter and she's going to injure herself again if we aren't careful. So what if we just picked it up? 🤔
We began picking up a few items every now and again, trying to spot the really dangerous things and put them into the bin before they caused any harm. It may save another pet owner a vet bill after all. 🐾
Once you start to notice litter, you see more of it everywhere. Over the next few months we noticed more and more different kinds of potential problems left on the floor. We also began to understand that it's not just dogs at risk on walks, it's every bit of wildlife too! 👀 The news articles you read about wildlife injury in other parts of the world's were also happening right here!
As an example. We had lots of fun with a ring frisbee, what a laugh it was when she got it over her head and onto her neck. She was bamboozled. A quick pull and it was free, no harm done! 😂
We soon after found a ring frisbee in Cleethorpes Country Park. It was thrown deep into the water and wrapped in fishing line.
If this kind of thing was left on the beach, then the tide takes it out and it could easily mean that the ring frisbee drifts to Donna Nook and becomes trapped around an inquisitive seal. There may not be anybody there to remove it and as the seal grows bigger, the ring slowly chokes them to death.
We decided to stop using ring frisbees and continue to remove abandoned toys, especially those with a strangulation risk, when we found them. Another thing to lookout for.
The very same goes for helium balloons, we would find these from time to time in fields but didn't truly know how many there were and how often these could be found. We decided to pick these up too. 🎈They became yet another thing to lookout for.
It felt like by now, we should just pickup every single thing that does not belong there! These kind of things poses a risk to any living thing that comes across it.
So that's what we did. Eventually opening our social media page last year to share some of the things we had been up to and finding. We wanted to raise awareness so that the risks of these kind of injuries could be reduced if more people were aware of them and by sharing our message, more people may want to help out.
We got a proper litter picker from The Helping Hand Company and we started to try and fill bigger and bigger bags with as many things as possible.
Eventually we met new friends, joined new groups and we are so thankful to have had our eyes opened and to be able to make a difference, no matter how small. We've met some amazing locals who have never litter picked before, but now do it as part of their walks. So many people are actively doing this. It's so lovely everytime we see it.
So, that is how we came to be! We got asked this a lot, so I figured it was time we put it into writing!
I hope you enjoyed reading this. I also thought it would be good to give our new followers a bit of background info.
Thank you everyone for joining us on our little litter picking journey. Over 200 followers now!
Many thanks also to our new friends for continuing to inspire and push us, as well as all the other social media pages that individuals have setup around the country. I used to waste some of my weekends sat around indoors doing nothing, now I see inspiring cleanups and it helps get me moving.
If you want to get started. Just remember.
It's not all dirty work. You don't have to go all out and pickup every horrible thing you find on the floor if you don't want to. You can help out by doing something like spotting a frisbee on the beach that has no owner or a lonely bucket next to a crumbling sandcastle - the wildlife will be safer if you remove it. 💚
Don't overwhelm yourself. What you choose to do or pick up next is up to you. If everyone does it, the benefits are multiplied massively.
We will be forever grateful if you think about this story next time you are out appreciating nature and you come across litter that could be easily and safely moved to a bin.
Thank you!!
For more info on how to start and read the safety precautions please visit:
https://www.nelincs.gov.uk/keeping-our-area-clean-and-safe/litter-picks/
Keep Britain Tidy
Paws On Plastic
The 2 Minute Foundation
