A coastal survey using drones in Dorset has laid bare the scale of the UK's litter problem. The drones flew over beaches in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole across seven days in the May half term this year. Eighteen sites along the seafront in the region were monitored between May 27 and June 2, covering an overall area of 475,000 square metres. The technology found more than 1.5 tonnes of rubbish left behind by visitors – a third of which were glass bottles when measured by volume. In all, more than 123,000 items were identified, up from 22,266 in a drone survey of the same areas during the March lockdown – marking an astonishing 454 per cent increase due to relaxing lockdown measures.

A pilot scheme in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) will see drones used to help councils reduce litter. BCP Council is partnering with the environmental charity Hubbub, startup Ellipsis Earth and fast food brand McDonald's – which is funding the trial – to use drone data to inform the placement of bins, street cleaning schedules and behaviour change campaigns around litter. The partners have called the pilot "the most scientifically robust litter survey ever undertaken in the UK". Drone imagery is processed by Ellipsis Earth software to automatically and rapidly detect discarded litter items and quantify them by type and brand to create litter heatmaps. This data, along with expert analysis and recommendations, will be shared with BCP council, Hubbub and McDonald's, to help them better understand and prevent littering.