Alternative approach to monitoring beach litter through commercial aerial drone

Abstract

The commonest method to quantify and characterize beach litter is the visual survey. However, it is very labour intensive, time consuming and difficult to carry out on beaches where are remote or difficult to access. I herein report an alternative approach for monitoring beach litter by using an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), or aerial drone, with automated image acquisition and image processing. Litter of different sizes, colors, and materials were placed randomly on two beaches. Aerial images of beaches were obtained by the drone at different altitudes on sunny days. Litter on the beaches was screened out and identified from the aligned photos by untrained personnel with the highest accuracy of >85%. The quantification of beach litter was three times faster using the drone than visual census. This study indicates the potential of using the drone as an efficient and a cost-effective sampling method in routine beach litter monitoring program.