Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council has announced a pilot scheme which will see drone-based technology used to tackle the issue of litter.

The trial, which will be carried out this summer in partnership with the environmental charity Hubbub and McDonald’s, will see intelligence gathered from drone data to inform the future placement of bins, street cleansing schedules and campaigns to encourage visitors to dispose of litter responsibly.

The technology was used in the Italian town of Sorrento last summer, where it enabled authorities to reduce litter by 45% and cigarette butt waste by 69%.

Cllr Mark Anderson, portfolio holder for Environment, Cleansing and Waste, BCP Council commented: ‘We are delighted to have been invited to participate in this national collaboration, at no cost to the council, which will enhance our plans to tackle the issue of litter across our three towns.’

He added: ‘Litter is everyone’s responsibility. We will be very clear when we welcome responsible visitors to our resort, they should respect and protect our resort, behave reasonably and pick up after themselves.’

Trewin Restorick, CEO and co-founder of Hubbub said: ‘We were really inspired by the impact of this technology which we’ve seen work so successfully in Sorrento. Basing behaviour change activity on real data will really help us maximise impact and we’re excited by what could be achieved.

‘Litter continues to cause problems for authorities in every part of the country. We want to create a replicable campaign that can be used as a template for future projects in other locations. Collaboration is at the heart of this campaign, so we’re keen to get as many local businesses and community groups on board to play their part.’