London: Wigan is running a month long chewing gum litter awareness and education campaign beginning 8 September, thanks to support from the Chewing Gum Action Group.
Removing engrained chewing gum from surfaces is expensive and it is possible that local authorities that carry out regular gum cleansing can spend up to £200,000 in a year.
Poster from 2008 chewing gum litter campaign
The Group is also supporting 14 other local authorities in their individual campaigns which take place between August and November. This is the third year the Action Group, made up of Government and industry, has provided support for gum litter campaigns.
Chewing gum is defined as litter under the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005. Campaign support includes advertising posters and assistance with wider activities designed to promote a behaviour change among gum litter louts.
Last year's successful campaigns resulted in local authorities recording an average reduction in chewing gum litter of nearly 60 per cent. In Blackpool and Oxford in particular, the reductions were 85 per cent and 86 per cent.
Minister for Local Environment Quality, Jonathan Shaw said:
"This is a great opportunity for local authorities to make head-way on what can be a costly and time-consuming problem. Local authorities will be measuring the effectiveness of their campaigns this year and working to build on last year's successes, and I look forward to hearing about their achievements".
Successful authorities
Of the 29 authorities competing for this scheme, the following 15 were successful:
Barking & Dagenham, Blackpool, Croydon (Business Improvement District), Cambridge, Doncaster, Enfield, Middlesbrough, Mole Valley, Nottingham, Borough of Poole, Rushmoor, Test Valley, Wigan, Wolverhampton, Worcester.
Further information
The chewing gum industry is working closely with Government and other partners to tackle the problem of chewing gum litter through the Chewing Gum Action Group. The Action Group is chaired by Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) and brings together representatives from local government, the chewing gum industry, ENCAMS (Keep Britain Tidy), the Local Government Association, the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management, the Welsh Assembly Government, and the Food and Drink Federation.
The chewing gum industry has committed an annual sum of £700,000 to the Action Group. As a key member of the Action Group, the industry also provides additional support on a rolling basis over and above this figure.
More information on the Action Group, past campaigns and research can be found at http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/localenv/litter/gum/