Beach Buddies, the Isle of Man’s volunteer-driven litter collection charity, is teaming up with beach cleaning groups in Guernsey and Jersey for the first time as part of the Channel Islands’ annual ‘Big Beach Clean’ this weekend (Saturday and Sunday, March 15-16).

As part of the collaboration, Beach Buddies is encouraging Manx residents to take part by heading to their favourite beach, collecting litter and sending in photos of their efforts.

While the usual Sunday morning clean-up will go ahead at Spaldrick, Port Erin, from 10.30am on March 16, volunteers can participate at any time over the weekend.

The charity’s founder Bill Dale said: ‘You don’t have to join us on Sunday morning—you can go out anytime over the weekend with friends, family, or even on your own.

‘Every little effort helps.’

Beach Buddies has more than 50 sponsored bins across the island for collected waste, and participants are encouraged to recycle where possible.

To track the event’s impact, volunteers are asked to email their photos and the number of people involved to [email protected].

The charity, supported by FIM Capital, hopes this cross-island initiative will inspire even more people to get involved in keeping beaches clean.

Since 2004, Beach Buddies have been clearing plastic off the beaches along the entire Isle of Man coastline.

The charity has gone on to become internationally renowned for setting global standards, with the Isle of Man being recognised as having some of the cleanest beaches in the world.

In recent years, the charity has expanded its efforts beyond cleaning beaches, tackling car parks, hiking trails, plantations, and play areas in a bid to keep the island clean and free of litter.

Beach Buddies also had an education programme in the island’s schools, to show students how important the issue is.