'We have a waste problem, not a litter problem'

Longer, hotter summers have brought more visitors to Dorset's beaches, but they have also led to a sharp increase in the amount of rubbish being left behind.

During the peak tourist season, Dorset Council collects between eight and ten tonnes of waste every day from bins along the seafront.

Dave Taylor, one of the founders of Weymouth & Portland Marine Litter Project, says the issue goes beyond litter, adding: "We have a waste problem, not a litter problem."

Dorset Council and Weymouth Town Council said recycling was difficult to manage along the seafront because it was hard to ensure waste was separated correctly.

Emma Teasdale, from Litter Free Dorset, says something needs to be done to address the growing volumes of rubbish.

"We don't have never-ending capacity to deal with this level of waste," she said.

"We're seeing more and more rubbish left on the beach and our bins filling up every day during the peak season. It's simply not sustainable.

"We want people to take responsibility for the waste they're producing.

"That applies not only to visitors, but also to local businesses selling items such as buckets, spades and inflatables, which are sadly, often, being seen as one-use items and then thrown away."

Litter Free Dorset, which is backed by Dorset Council, campaigns to reduce litter and waste while improving water quality across the county.

Its latest initiative encourages beachfront shops to support a beach toy library, allowing visitors to borrow toys rather than buy new ones.

Shops taking part place stickers on toys encouraging customers to either take them home or donate them to the toy library when they have finished using them.

Alan Collins, owner of Hedley's of Weymouth, said he was happy to support the scheme.

"We want people to reuse these items and get more than one use out of what they're buying," he said.

"Some people might say that's not very good for business, but I want to do my bit. There's too much waste and too much plastic."

Volunteers from the Weymouth & Portland Marine Litter Project described the amount of rubbish left on the seafront as "excessive".

Dave Taylor, one of the charity's founders, said: "What we'd like to see is people bringing less stuff to the beach.

"People arrive in the morning after the beach has been cleaned and raked by the tractor, think there's no issue. But it's taken a huge amount of work. The council has removed tonnes of rubbish, and we're litter-picking every evening.

"The waste doesn't just disappear. Much of it is sent to Europe to be incinerated."

Teasdale said adding more bins was not a long-term solution.

"We already have a huge number of bins and every year we seem to add a few more," she said.

"But there isn't infinite capacity. Dorset Council and Weymouth Town Council can't keep absorbing increasing amounts of waste.

"The reality is that it's incredibly difficult to separate recycling in this environment because you can't control what people put into each bin. That's why there are relatively few dedicated recycling bins along the seafront."