The Island’s beaches are suffering from a “plague” of wet wipes which are being needlessly thrown down toilets, says local environment charity Beach Buddies.

Following another weekend of collecting rubbish on Manx beaches, the charity’s volunteers found hundreds of wet wipes on the sensitive northwest coastline which will soon be used by thousands of nesting birds for the breeding season.

The findings confirm the findings revealed last week by the Marine Conservation Society whose figures show a 50% increase in wet wipes being found on British beaches during 2014.

“We have been watching this situation for years,” said Beach Buddies founder Bill Dale. “We have been told there are plans to install an expensive filtration system on the sewerage outlet in Ramsey, which definitely has the worst problem, but the real answer to this is for people to simply stop throwing things down the loo.

“The manufacturers of baby wipes, sanitary towels and cotton wool buds are just as guilty. They claim that babywipes are supposed to be biodegradable, but in our experience you have got to ask what on earth that means, because there are tens of thousands of them on the beaches, and they most definitely don’t look anything like biodegradable.

“No doubt these babywipes will break down over a very long period, but in our opinion that is definitely not what you call biodegradable. The manufacturers should be telling the public the truth and do something to end this plague of materials which have clearly been thrown down the toilet.”

The Isle of Man’s beaches were included in the MCS 2014 survey which shows that marine litter in general continues to increase, and shows that wet wipes in particular are a huge problem across the British Isles.

As more people choose to use moist cloths to remove make-up, replace traditional toilet paper and apply fake tan, more wipes are flushed down the loo causing havoc with sewerage systems and ending up on beaches.

In the Isle of Man, Beach Buddies says that the worst affected beaches are in the north, particularly Ramsey, where many thousands are removed each year by volunteers.

Other items discovered in large numbers which also appear to be thrown down the loo include sanitary towels and the plastic sticks used in making cotton wool buds.

Plastic remains the most common item to be found on the Island’s beaches, ranging from tiny pieces the size of a finger nail to massive pieces of roadside barriers.

During 2014, Beach Buddies’ volunteers held 257 different sessions all over the Island, with 2930 volunteers collecting 3540 bin bags full of rubbish, collecting an estimated 917,000 items, ranging from tiny shards of plastic to a 40inch television screen, hundreds of lobster pots and commercial fishing gear, dozens of barrels containing used engine oil and a full size wheelie bin.

In the UK, the government claims no new action is needed on marine litter, and says it is doing all it can, but MCS says its figures clearly show not enough is being done.

In the Isle of Man, the Manx government’s Department of Infrastructure gives support to Beach Buddies by supplying equipment and large collection bins, and corporate sponsorship helps support the charity’s ongoing work.

It is also understood that the problem with exceptionally large numbers of babywipes in Ramsey bay will be resolved once new filtration equipment is fitted to the sewerage outlet system, scheduled to start in 2016.

“It’s wrong to say that the Manx government is doing nothing about the problem,” Bill Dale added. “There is definitely a desire within government to do what they can in the current economic climate to give support.

“However, and I have said this many times before in public, this is not a problem caused by the government. The public are 100% responsible for the rubbish on our beaches, and 100% responsible for what is thrown down the toilet.

“But, we don’t think this is a malicious act. The labelling on things like babywipes, sanitary towels and cotton wool buds needs to be changed.

“These items are not biodegradable, and the labels need to clearly say that they should not be thrown down the loo.”

Muriel Garland of Zero Waste Mann, which campaigns for reducing all waste, added, “When people throw things ‘away’ they must realise they all finish up ‘somewhere else’.”

Bill Dale added, “One of the Beach Buddies’ slogans says: ‘fill a bag and make a difference’. That also applies in your own bathroom. Throw babywipes and cotton wool buds into a bag or the bin, not down the toilet.

“It’s not rocket science. A simple change in labelling by the manufacturers would change this situation overnight.”

Photo -  A bag containing hundreds of babywipes and cotton wool buds collected yesterday (Sunday) on the beaches at Smeale.