SOME 39 bags of rubbish were collected from the island’s beaches as part of the Marine Conservation Society’s BeachWatch Big Weekend.
Beach cleans, organised by Beach Buddies, took place in the island over five days as part of the British Isles-wide campaign.
Beach Buddies founder Bill Dale said: ‘The reaction from the public has been fantastic and the best news is that Beach Buddies has recruited a number of new volunteers.
‘Everyone who joined in the cleaning sessions said they wanted to come back, so that’s a real bonus.’
As well as the 39 bags, numerous large items were removed, as well as unusual items including a large piece of fencing owned by Dublin City Council, a computer, a television, barbed wire and a piece of Scalextric.
The final Beach Buddies event at The Lhen, on Sunday, was hit by the weather. This was the event where every item collected was recorded for the MCS annual survey of British beaches.
Mr Dale said: ‘I arrived there on Sunday morning with a severe gale and driving rain and, to be honest, I didn’t expect anyone to arrive. But I have to pay tribute to two hardy souls who joined me for an hour.’
They collected six bags of rubbish and larger items, including two fish boxes.
In addition, two events organised in the south by Michelle Haywood for MCS attracted large numbers of volunteers who collected even more bags, to conclude the BeachWatch campaign.
Mr Dale said lots of groups were keen to join the Adopt a Beach campaign, due to be launched soon.
He said: ‘We are working to make the beaches safer and more beautiful but we really need all the help we can get.
‘In recent months a litter warning was issued after a basking shark was filmed in Manx waters with plastic around its nose, and a grey seal was pictured with plastic around its throat near Kitterland.’
He said: ‘But it’s not just wildlife which suffers as a result of rubbish on our beaches. Hundreds of people, maybe thousands, take their dogs for a walk on the beach every day and face the danger of getting seriously injured from broken bottles, broken tin cans and other sharp items.
‘There are also fairly large amounts of items such as lost fishing tackle, netting and fishing line which can get tangled in a bird’s legs, which will almost certainly result in their death.
What we want to promote is a sense of pride within the community about the island’s coastline. We have some of the most spectacular scenery in the British Isles and if we all pull together we can make it even better.’
Beach Buddies is also getting prepared to join the all-island Big Tidy Up campaign on September 29-30.
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