A NEW campaign aimed at tackling roadside litter has launched in Dorset.

Litter Free Dorset, a community group combining local organisations and charities, is running the campaign to raise awareness and provide tips in the hope of tidying up Dorset’s roads.

The group is hoping to reduce the environmental impact of litter across the county, working closely with Dorset Waste Partnership to challenge the issue as part of a wider ‘Litter Free Coast and Sea’ campaign.

Charlie Wild, Litter Free Dorset project officer, said: “The roadsides are what visitors to the area see first when entering our county.

“Dorset is often seen as having rolling green hills and stunning countryside, and we want people to really experience that – whether they live in the area or are visiting for the first time – and not be introduced with lots of rubbish.

“We accept that there are some items that accidentally get blown off the back of lorries or vans, but the majority of the litter we are finding is snack food-related and can easily be avoided to becoming litter.”

Miss Wild added that the group found everything from wet wipes and barbecue items to car parts and kayak vests when they recently carried out a mass clear up of roadside litter.

She said: “Initial perceptions at the start of the campaign were that the majority of roadside litter would be made up of fast food packaging. However, only a small portion of what we’ve found has come directly from the traditional fast food outlets.”

People who drop litter in Dorset could be landed with a £75 if they are caught, including those who litter whilst driving.

As reported in the Daily Echo, fly-tipping cost Dorset taxpayers more than £170,000 last year.

During 2016, local authorities across Dorset, Poole and Bournemouth received 5,930 reports of rubbish having deliberately been abandoned at the roadside, at beauty spots and public land - all at a huge cost to the public.

Over the same period, employees of the Dorset Waste Partnership dealt with 2,417 incidents, excluding Bournemouth and Poole, at an estimated cost of £130,813.

The same employees dealt with 258 incidents at Christchurch at an estimated cost of £13,265.

In Bournemouth, council officers received reports of 1,870 incidents of fly-tipping, which was cleared up at a cost of £26,830.

Poole officers were alerted to 1,385 incidents.