Council secures £11,000 to tackle chewing gum waste

Stroud District Council will use the funds to tackle issues around discarded gum

A council has secured funding for cleaning chewing gum from its streets.

Stroud District Council has received a £11,382 grant from the charity Keep Britain Tidy to tackle the issue.

The council is one of 54 across the country that have successfully applied to the Chewing Gum Task Force, which was set up three years ago.

Councillor Martin Brown said: "Chewing gum makes our lovely towns look dirty and uncared for."

Some of the money will be spent on preventing people dropping gum

"Removing it is a time-consuming and costly exercise.

"Securing the funding from the Chewing Gum Task Force will not only help us clean it up but will also help to prevent it being dropped on the streets in future."

According to Keep Britain Tidy, the annual clean-up cost of chewing gum for councils in the UK is around £7m and around 77% of England’s streets and 99% of retail sites are stained with gum.

Keep Britain Tidy’s chief executive, Allison Ogden-Newton OBE said: “Chewing gum litter is highly visible on our high streets and is both difficult and expensive to clean up, so the support for councils provided by the Chewing Gum Task Force and gum manufacturers is very welcome.

“However, once the gum has been cleaned up, it is vital to remind the public that when it comes to litter, whether it’s gum or anything else, there is only one place it should be – in the bin.

"That is why the behaviour change element of the task force’s work is so important.”