Drones take flight as council targets littering hotspots

  • Video report from ITV News Meridian's Mary Stanley

Drones are being used to help tackle the problem of rubbish in Bournemouth and Poole, in a move by BCP council to target littering hotspots.

The results support the beaches of the BCP region in addressing litter behaviors as the resort prepares for a busy summer season and influx of visitors.

The intelligence gathered from the drone data is helping inform street cleaning schedules and the placement of litter-busting interventions in the area’s green spaces, streets and beaches.

  • Trewin Restorick, Environmental charity Hubbub

Early data from the surveys collected shows that over 123,000 items were identified over the 7 days of half term, up from 22,266 in the March survey (454% increase).

The most littered items were:

6,977 items of litter (5.7%) were family-related items, including 370 toys, 342 wet wipes and 147 juice cartons

  • The world’s first disco bin that lights up and plays music

Environmental charity Hubbub today unveiled a range of playful initiatives to make the area’s bins more engaging and noticeable; from glow in the dark bins and the world’s first disco bin that lights up and plays music, to bins where you can vote with your rubbish and a Catch of the Day spoof fishmonger stall which will pop up at weekends.