News Bubble gum blitz begins
Chewing gum is being blasted off Maidstone’s high street as the Streets Team gets to work tackling the sticky issue, thanks to a new grant.
A £15,859 grant from the Chewing Gum Task Force, administered by environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy, is helping Maidstone Borough Council clean up gum and reduce gum littering across the borough.
Maidstone is one of 52 councils across the UK to successfully secure funding from the Task Force, now in its fourth year. It is also one of only two councils to be selected for the extended evaluation and monitoring programme managed by Behaviour Change, a not-for-profit social enterprise that uses behavioural science to drive environmental improvements.
Cllr Clive English, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Environmental Services and Enforcement at Maidstone Borough Council, said: “This grant is fantastic news for Maidstone. It means we can not only clean up the existing chewing gum that spoils our pavements and causes so much inconvenience, but also implement measures to stop it from happening in the first place. Our goal is to create a cleaner, more pleasant environment for everyone, and this funding is a crucial step towards achieving that.”
The Chewing Gum Task Force was established by Defra and is funded by major gum manufacturers including Mars Wrigley and Perfetti Van Melle, with up to £10 million invested over five years. Monitoring by Behaviour Change has shown that areas receiving funding have seen gum littering reduced by up to 80% within two months, with sustained improvements six months later.
According to Keep Britain Tidy, around 77% of England’s streets and 99% of retail sites are stained with gum, costing councils an estimated £7 million annually to clean.
Allison Ogden-Newton OBE, Chief Executive of Keep Britain Tidy, 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.”