Weary driver creates AI 'litter-tracking dashcam'

A software developer became so frustrated by the amount of rubbish he saw dumped along roadsides that he built an AI-powered "litter dashcam" to expose the scale of the problem.

Robin Bennett, from Shrewsbury, developed the Roadside Litter app after noticing what he believed was a growing amount of litter while driving around the county.

The technology has already logged more than 3,000 litter reports in Shropshire and more than 28,000 across the UK.

He is now sharing the data with anti-litter campaign group Clean Up Britain in the hope it will encourage action, while Shropshire Council said it was exploring ways to improve litter management on some of the county's busiest roads.

Bennett, who runs a software company in Telford, said he found the amount of rubbish on local roads "really depressing" and wanted to understand whether the issue was unique to Shropshire or part of a wider national problem.

After approaching Clean Up Britain to ask how he could help, he went on to develop what he describes as a "litter dashcam" that records rubbish spotted from a vehicle.

"My software company's created an app, which essentially is a litter dashcam," he said.

"The app records the litter that it sees."

Mounted on a vehicle dashboard, the app automatically takes a photograph every 10 seconds, identifying visible litter and grading it against a national standard before uploading the information.

Bennett said: "I've got a phone holder stuck to the dashboard, I've put my phone in securely.

"I start it and that's it, you don't have to touch the screen, and the screen will go black in a minute so it's not distracting in any way.

"Every 10 seconds it takes a photo, it looks at the litter it can see by the side of the road and it grades it according to a national standard."

The app had recorded more than 3,000 reports in Shropshire and more than 28,000 nationwide, Bennett said.

He added litter was particularly common near convenience stores, fast-food outlets and motorway service stations.

"People pick up a bag of fast food and just throw the bag out the window," he added.

Bennett said he hoped the data collected by the app would help build a clearer picture of the problem and encourage authorities to do more to tackle roadside litter.

A spokesperson for Shropshire Council said the authority recognised the importance of maintaining a clean and attractive highway network and was engaging with National Highways to explore opportunities to improve litter management on the A5 and A49.

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