Almost 60% more litter can be found in the UK's coastal communities than in inland locations, according to new research.
A study, published in the journal Marine Pollution Bulletin, is the first UK-based research to investigate the effects of population density and community on the accumulation of litter in the environment.
It recruited a network of citizen scientists, comprising 97 volunteers based everywhere from the coasts of Cornwall, Cumbria and Kent to urban locations including London, Leeds and Leicester.
They were asked to carry out monthly litter picks at set locations over the space of five months, cataloguing the quantities and types of litter they found using a smartphone application.
This allowed researchers to observe trends in the litter's accumulation and abundance, while also enabling them to explore any connections between quantities of litter and population density.
Overall, between May and September 2021, the volunteers collected just under 28,000 items including more than 9,200 pieces of hard plastic and other fragments, 9,150 items of food wrappers and other packaging, and 6,300 pieces of cigarette-related debris, including butts and lighters.
The litter density was almost 60% higher in coastal areas compared to inland regions (0.053 items per m² compared to 0.03 items m²), with urban areas consistently exhibiting more litter than rural areas in both coastal and inland locations.
However, over the course of the five-month study, coastal areas experienced a significant influx of new litter whereas levels in inland regions were either stable or decreasing.
Writing in the study, the researchers say this could be down to a combination of litter being transported to the coast from inland via rivers and storm overflows, as well as more items being dropped by holidaymakers during the summer months.
Also, while there was no significant difference in levels of litter in coastal urban and coastal rural communities, but inland urban areas had significantly more litter than their rural counterparts.
The study was carried out by scientists from the International Marine Litter Research Unit at the University of Plymouth, ZSL, Nantes Université, and the campaign group Surfers Against Sewage.
They say it highlights the importance of developing tailored waste management strategies that take different regions and communities into account.
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