More than 170 people took on the Litter Free Dorset Challenge with the weight of a giraffe in litter being cleared from Dorset's streets, greenspaces and beaches.

The successful challenge was a joint project run by Litter Free Dorset and Preventing Plastic Pollution this May, whereby individuals across the county were encouraged to get outdoors, have some fun and litter pick their local areas at times that suited them over the course of the month.

Challengers were invited to pick a challenge of their choosing to take on over the month and could also fundraise for Litter Free Dorset to contribute towards enabling the challenge to run again in 2023. In return, participants received free litter picking equipment to use throughout their challenge and in the future.

Sophie Colley, Litter Free Dorset's coordinator, said: "A big thank you to everyone who grabbed a litter picker and got involved with his year's Litter Free Dorset Challenge.

"It's been fantastic to see everyone's updates in the Litter Free Dorset Challenge Facebook group and the community support given for everyone involved. We hope the participants have all been inspired to continue their litter picking activities into the future. 

"A big shout out to one young litter picker who fundraised £105 towards the next Litter Free Dorset Challenge as part of their challenge."

Challengers were also invited to record litter-related data on behalf of the Preventing Plastic Pollution project to help inform solutions to tackle plastic pollution long term.

Based on analysis of the survey data, it's estimated that 34,000 pieces of litter weighing 1,200kg - the equivalent weight of a giraffe - were removed from Dorset's streets, greenspaces and beaches as part of the challenge.

More than 70 per cent of the litter comprised plastic, which is consistent with data collected across the Preventing Plastic Pollution project. The most common type of litter identified was cigarette butts and plastic wrappers used for sweets, crisps and snacks. Making up the top five were drinks cans and bottles plus unidentifiable plastic pieces.

Amanda Arnold, Preventing Plastic Pollution researcher said: "Thank you to everyone who took part in the Litter Free Dorset Challenge and recorded their litter survey results on the Preventing Plastic Pollution citizen science hub. We were thrilled to see so much enthusiasm from the younger generation, with over half - 54 per cent - of all participants registered being under 16, or parents completing the challenge with their children. 

"Extra special thanks to the litter hero that recorded litter surveys for all 31 days of May."