People who throw away fast food packaging and drinks cans are the ones responsible for the majority of the rubbish which is collecting on the Isle of Man’s beaches.
That’s the opinion of volunteer beach cleaning group Beach Buddies after they tackled the beach at Glen Mooar on the west of the Island yesterday morning.
The Glen Mooar lane, car park, riverbanks and around 1.5 miles of beach were totally cleared of all rubbish, much of which consisted of fast food food packaging and drinks cans.
“Amazingly, much of this throwaway packaging had been dumped only a few yards from the local authority rubbish bins, which we just don’t understand,” said Beach Buddies co-ordinator Bill Dale.
“And it unfortunately points in the direction of young people, some of which simply don’t seem to see dumping litter out of the car window as causing a problem.
“It’s now widely acknowledged that packaging such as disposable foam boxes used by chip shops and takeaways never ever disappears and only eventually breaks down after hundreds of years into pieces which are now floating around the world’s oceans in trillions and trillions of tiny fragments which are now entering the food chain via fish.
“The message is clearly not getting across, and it’s up to organisations like ours to make sure that everyone understands the impact of throwing even the smallest item of rubbish in the streets.”
However, Beach Buddies believes that, despite some problem areas, there is an increasing awareness amongst the majority of younger people in the Isle of Man of how litter is damaging the environment and wildlife.
“We now have more than 900 volunteers and the number is fast approaching 1,000 within the space of just one year,” added Bill Dale.
“Many of these are children and young people and I think we are definitely turning a corner in terms of helping them understand the damage that can be done by litter.
“The children are asking lots of questions, and it’s obvious that many of them simply didn’t previously understand the damage that litter can cause to wildlife and the environment, so it’s very encouraging for the long term future.”
The beach between Glen Mooar and Glen Wyllin is now in pristine condition, thanks to the efforts of the 24 Beach Buddies’ volunteers who collected 15 bags of rubbish, together with large amounts of rope, metal and several lobster pots, during the regular weekly session staged by Beach Buddies. The most remarkable find, however, was a complete outboard motor, discovered amongst rocks at the southern end of Glen Mooar beach.
In particular, the volunteers paid special attention to the area close to the access point to the beach which is visited by large numbers of people in spring and summer.
This is where the majority of the throwaway food packaging was found, and beach Buddies intends to monitor the levels of rubbish in this area in the coming months, to assess how much of the litter problem is generated by local visitors.
“We are coming up the to TT, so this is a great opportunity to show the rest of the wold just how much we all care about our Island and the wildlife.”
• To join in the Beach Buddies “Big One Pre-TT Tidy Up”, between May 12th and 19th, you can register by e-mail at beachbuddies@manx.net or via the Facebook page: “Beach Buddies Isle of Man”. A number of organisations, schools and a local authority have already signed up to take part in the events during the week which will take place in the evenings and weekends, lasting just one hour. Beach Buddies will provide litterpickers, gloves and bin bags and will dispose of the rubbish collected afterwards, recycling where possible.
Photo - Beach Buddies' volunteers at Glen Mooar beach on Sunday
