A study by the University of Oxford estimated that drones and AI could save the catastrophe that is Oxfordshire's flytipping problem.
Research by Amani Maalouf at the university revealed that illegal waste dumping is increasingly operating at an industrial scale.
Part of the problem is that by the time large fly-tipping sites are discovered, it can be difficult to identify the original source.
A prime example is the Kidlington waste dump where fly-tippers had spent months depositing around 21,000 tonnes of mixed household and commercial waste on empty land just off the A34, near the River Cherwell.
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Now a six-month operation is underway, costing £7.3 million to clear up.
Another 30,000 tonnes of waste at a protected site of special scientific interest in Leicestershire is another recent example of how severe the UK's problem with flytipping has become.
The House of Lords committee for environment and climate change has estimated that waste crime costs the UK economy about £1 billion a year.
Analysis reported by the Guardian suggested the UK may now have around 8,000 illegal waste sites and those that dumped the waste have avoided about £1.63 billion in landfill tax.
Globally, a report from the UN Environmental Programme estimated the hidden costs of uncontrolled waste disposal reached £181 billion worldwide in 2020.
Illegal dumps can also attract pests and other disease carriers, creating public health concerns, disturbing habitats and harming wildlife.
Animals may ingest plastics and other harmful materials, while the wind can spread shredded waste across nearby land.
In some cases, waste can catch fire, releasing smoke and fine particulates into the air.
Ms Maalouf suggests that drones could take detailed pictures of waste sites from the air, while AI could analyse these images and identify places that may be breaking the law.
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Other tools, such as thermal cameras and methane detectors, can spot signs of waste that cannot be seen with the naked eye.
This is useful because illegal waste sites usually grow slowly over time.
If authorities find them earlier, they can act before serious environmental damage occurs.
Although these technologies cannot always identify the people responsible, they could show where and when illegal dumping is happening and help investigators focus their efforts.
The UK government is also introducing a new digital waste-tracking system in October 2026. Instead of relying on paper records, waste movements will be recorded digitally.
This should make it easier to track waste and harder for it to end up at illegal sites.
The government is already using drones to help find and investigate waste dumpers.
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