6 July 2026
Plan B Management Solutions couldn’t deliver services without the skill and dedication of our team, and we genuinely care about our people, which is why we jumped at the chance of a visit from Andy’s Man Club, a men’s suicide prevention charity.
The stats are stark: suicide is the biggest killer of men under 54 years, equating to the loss of one man every two hours. Andy’s Man Club offers free peer-to-peer support groups across the UK and aims to end the stigma surrounding men’s mental health by encouraging conversation.
The date for our toolbox talk was scheduled to coincide with Men’s Mental Health Week 2026, and leaflets and wristbands were available in the crew deployment office at the Tondu depot to create awareness of the event.
Andy Barton, Area Lead for Andy’s Man Club, led a series of toolbox talks at our Bridgend depot. The sessions proved popular with 76 staff from our waste and recycling collection crews, community recycling centres, and vehicle technicians team attending across eight sessions.
“Having experienced depression myself in 2022, I feel privileged to speak to the Bridgend workforce,” Andy said. “If just one person from today attends one of our meetings, I can be proud to have made that difference. If anyone is thinking of attending an Andy’s Man Club, my advice would be to take the plunge and go for it,” he added.
This isn’t a one-off event for us, we’re keen to continue promoting the charity and will provide leaflets and wristbands in the depot as well as putting Andy’s Man Club business cards in the cabs of our vehicles. “It’s great to partner with Andy’s Man Club. Encouraging men to talk is so important in our male dominated industry,” says Gareth Barnes, Business Manager at Bridgend for Plan B Management Solutions.
Andy’s Man Club meetings take place every Monday at 7pm, and the only rule is, “It’s okay to talk.” There are around 350 groups to choose from, 6,500+ weekly attendees and 3,500+ volunteers.