"A stain on our communities" - Lancashire borough gets share of £1 million fund to clean up chewing gum
A Lancashire council has been given a major boost to combat the scourge of chewing gum litter on the streets.
Hyndburn Borough Council is one of 52 across the country that have successfully applied to the Chewing Gum Task Force, now in its fourth year, for funds to clean gum off pavements and prevent it from being littered again.
The authority is now putting plans in place after receiving a £27,419.59 grant to tackle the issue.
Established by Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) and run by environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy, the Chewing Gum Task Force Grant Scheme is open to councils across the UK who wish to clean up gum in their local areas and invest in long-term behaviour change to prevent gum from being dropped in the first place.
The Task Force is funded by major gum manufacturers including Mars Wrigley and Perfetti Van Melle, with an investment of up to £10 million spread over five years.
Councillor Stewart Eaves, Portfolio Holder for Environmental Services at Hyndburn Borough Council said: We’re proud to be one of the councils awarded funding from the Chewing Gum Task Force. This grant will help us tackle the persistent issue of chewing gum littering our streets, making our town centres cleaner and more welcoming for residents, businesses, and visitors. It’s a great example of how national partnerships can support local action and we look forward to putting this funding to good use. We have identified several areas for gum removal and we will also use some of the funding to produce signage in problem areas.”
Estimates suggest the annual clean-up cost of chewing gum for councils in the UK is around £7 million and, according to Keep Britain Tidy, around 77 per cent of England’s streets and 99 per cent of retail sites are stained with gum.
Environment Minister Mary Creagh said: “Chewing gum litter is a stain on our communities. These grants, funded by gum producers, will empower local councils to tackle this issue head-on, delivering cleaner streets for all. This government is committed to ending our throwaway society. That is why we have already banned single-use vapes, and announced a crackdown on waste crime.”
Allison Ogden-Newton OBE, Keep Britain Tidy’s chief executive, said: “Chewing gum continues to be an unsightly form of litter in our public spaces – though thankfully the scheme is leading to significant reductions. People need to remember that disposing irresponsibly of their gum causes harm to our environment as it takes years to decompose naturally – and, ultimately, costs the public purse to clean it up.”