"A stain on our communities" - North East boroughs get share of £1 million fund to clean up chewing gum
Three local councils have been given a major boost to combat the scourge of chewing gum litter on the streets.
Newcastle City Council, Sunderland City Council and North Tyneside Council are among 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.
Newcastle City Council has recieved a £12,842 grant to tackle the issue, while North Tyneside and Sunderland have not announced the amount they have been given.
The funding will allow Newcastle to introduce new automated barrows to its cleaning fleet of equipment which offer room for litter collection and a chewing gum removal wand.
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 Alex Hay, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Neighbourhood Services, Newcastle City Council said: “We’re delighted to receive this funding from the Chewing Gum Task Force. Chewing gum litter is a persistent and costly problem, and this grant will help us take a smarter, more targeted approach to tackling it. By investing in new cleaning technology and raising public awareness, we’re not only improving the look and feel of our streets but also encouraging everyone to take pride in our city and dispose of gum responsibly.”
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.”