Named the ’new enemy’ of litter, an island group has formed to tackle the issue of plastic waste inland.

PlasticBusters, an international initiative that recently opened a branch here, has so far collected about 226kg (500 pounds) of plastic waste around the island from seven litter-picking events.

Bringing PlasticBusters to the island was the Isle of Man’s head of commercial banking at HSBC, Jaime Amoedo.

The Spanish-native, who has always been ’very passionate’ about the environment and its preservation, was inspired to make a difference after completing his challenge of walking every single road in the Isle of Man last year.

He said: ’I had the privilege of moving with my family to the island just over two years ago and, amazed by its beauty, I challenged myself to discover each corner of this unique Unesco Biosphere nation by walking every single road (over 1,000 kilometres!).

’An amazing experience which, unfortunately, also opened my eyes to the amount of litter, and in particular plastics, on the roads and countryside.’

Picking up some plastic during his walks, Mr Amoedo realised that he needed to ’engage others and multiply the effort in order to make a real sustainable difference while raising awareness of this issue, which is seriously threatening our ecosystems’.

’A large proportion of the litter you find along our coastline comes from abroad, but what you find inland is all ours. Simply put, there is nobody else to blame and it’s everyone’s responsibility to tackle it,’ he said.

PlasticBusters, which launched in December 2019, has over 1,700 members in more than 50 countries.

The initiative focuses on picking up litter and works towards educating people on the issue while participating in forums, providing advice and influencing decision-makers.

In the Isle of Man, the group meets every other week for litter-picking events or educational activities.

A Unesco Biosphere spokesman has said: ’Litter has a new enemy in the form of PlasticBusters.’

Hit by the challenging weather conditions this winter, the group has still managed to meet seven times.

Members have focused on the outskirts of Douglas and will work in other areas soon.

This month, the group will introduce a mobile app with the support of the PlasticBusters network, which will track litter picked up in group and individual activities in the Isle of Man as well as globally.

For more details, visit www.plasticbusters.org or join the PlasticBusters Facebook page: www.facebook.com/groups/PlasticBustersGroup/