Scruff The Eco Dog: Recycling Plastic Bottles for the Planet

Do you recycle as much as you can, or is there room for improvement? Recycling can feel confusing and time-consuming at the best of times. However, the next time you feel fed up with making an effort, consider this. There’s a dog with a knack for recycling plastic bottles, and he might even recycle more than you! Introducing Scruff the Eco dog.

From Picking Up Twigs to Collecting Plastic Bottles

Scruff’s proud owners, David Grant and his wife, Yvonne Faulkner-Grant noticed his knack for recycling on their daily walks. Instead of picking up twigs, the 13-year-old border collie began to pick up empty plastic bottles. He would pick up one bottle, then drop it when he saw another one. Then his owners had a brainwave; why not collect them in a bag and take them to the recycling centre?

The Positive Reaction to Scruff the Litter Hero

His owners say that Scruff has collected at least 1000 plastic bottles this year. As a result, Scruff is now dubbed an ‘eco-dog’ on Facebook. People often stop and say he should be working for the council when they see him in the street.

When Scruff first started playing with the plastic bottles, he would drop them back on the ground. Worried that people would think they were littering, his owners started putting them in a bag. That’s how their recycling plastic bottles idea began. What started off as a game for the adorable family pet has become a mission. He now deliberately looks for plastic bottles when he goes for a walk.

#Scruffs Bottle Patrol

David and Yvonne are storing the bottles Scruff has collected and will count them up at the end of the year. In the new year, they’ll take them to the recycling centre in batches each month.

Scruff’s achievements have even encouraged his owners to give him a hashtag on social media. It’s #scruffsbottlepatrol in case you want to look him up!

Recycling Plastic Bottles - The Stats

If you’re wondering if Scruff’s eco-friendly antics make a difference, they do. Here’s why recycling plastic bottles is so important.

• We recycle just 39% of plastic waste in the UK. The rest is incinerated, sent to a landfill site, or exported overseas.
• Each UK household generates over 13kg of plastic bottle waste every year.
• We use over 14 billion plastic bottles each year in the UK. We only recycle 8.3 billion.
• The equivalent of 1 truck full of plastic waste is dumped into the ocean every minute.
• Recycling plastic only uses 12% of the energy needed to create new plastic.
• Home insulation, clothing, carrier bags, plastic cases, recycling bins, park benches, and new plastic bottles. Just some of the things you can make from recycled plastic bottles.
• Recycled plastic can become a completely new item in as little as one month.
• PET and HDPE are the plastics used to make plastic bottles and caps. They are two of the easiest to recycle plastics.
• It can take up to 1,000 years for a plastic product to fully decompose.

Source: sustainabilityguide.co.uk

If a Dog Can Recycle, Anyone Can

We’ll leave the last word to Scruff’s proud owner, David.

“Someone said to me the other day that not all heroes wear capes and that is exactly what I think Scruff is doing - being a hero. We think he is setting an example to everyone that we need to start looking after our planet. If a dog can do it, anyone can."

For more interesting articles on recycling and sustainable living, check out the rest of our blog.