With the support of Beach Buddies a local charity, PwC employees dug out their wellies and volunteered to help their local community by cleaning the beaches around the South of the Island.
The beach clean took place between July and September, whatever the weather and all staff members were encouraged to get involved.
Ian Clague, Senior Partner at PwC said “our responsibility extends beyond clients and employees to our local community. Many non-profit organizations have limited resources and welcome support in addressing their challenges. We foster a culture that encourages people to share skills, expertise and resources in our community. Our teams tell us that they find volunteering rewarding and get a lot of satisfaction from helping to support our community.”
In total PwC collected an amazing 131 bin liners full of rubbish, plus numerous other items, including a huge rope at Castletown Bay, a giant wheel at Langness, a massive fishing net last week at Port St Mary, a ship's toilet at Gansey, a giant tarpaulin at Castletown, wire fencing at Langness, and the obligatory fish boxes, oil drums, plastic barrels, fishing nets, ropes, odd shoes, traffic cones and always, always tennis balls.
According to research, there are two pieces of litter on every square meter of our coastline, most of it plastic.
Plastic is not only unsightly but it is also a serious threat to wildlife and affects the quality of the sea environment. Marine mammals like seals and turtles, fish and birds eat the plastic believing it to be jellyfish or other digestible food. It eventually fills their stomachs and they then starve to death. Fishing line and rope tangles around animals and birds and stops them from swimming and flying and they drown. Unfortunately the list goes on....
Bill Dale, founder of Beach Buddies, who organised all of the cleaning sessions for PwC, said the company had made “the single biggest positive impact on the environment by any company which had volunteered to help the organisation.”
He said, “We have had a number of companies bringing lots of volunteers in the past, usually in one large group, but PwC chose to have a more structured method by choosing a different location over eight consecutive weeks.
“It meant that, probably for the first time in decades, virtually the entire Langness peninsula was cleared of rubbish, together with Castletown Bay, Fisher’s Hill, Gansey and Port St Mary.
“I was impressed by the enthusiasm of everyone, even on two of the days when the weather really was unpleasant. They removed a massive amount of rubbish and should feel very pleased with the difference they have made to the environment and the wildlife.”
