Maidstone Borough Council has secured over £19,000 from the Chewing Gum Task Force for a second consecutive year, following evidence that its gum litter reduction campaign achieved an 86% drop in discarded chewing gum in targeted areas.

The funding, administered by environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy, will support chewing gum removal and behaviour change campaigns in key public areas across the borough to help keep the streets and parks clean.

Alongside improving the appearance of streets and public spaces, reducing gum litter can help protect the environment by preventing waste from entering the wider ecosystem and reducing potential risks to wildlife.

Last year, Maidstone was one of only two boroughs selected to take part in an independent evaluation of the effectiveness of targeted street cleansing and anti-litter messaging. The study found that gum litter fell by up to 86% after two months, with reductions still evident in the six months following deep cleaning and the installation of specially designed signage which encourages people to bin their gum.

Maidstone Borough Council is one of 50 local authorities across the UK to receive funding this year from the Chewing Gum Task Force. The Task Force helps councils remove gum staining from pavements while supporting initiatives that discourage littering.

Councillor Clive English, Maidstone Borough Council Cabinet Member for Environmental Services and Enforcement, spoke about this second award of funding, saying: “This grant provides valuable support for our work to improve the appearance of Maidstone's streets and public spaces. Last year's project demonstrated that relatively simple measures can significantly reduce gum littering, and we are pleased to build on that success.

“By putting chewing gum in a bin after use, everyone can play a part in helping to keep Maidstone clean.”

The scheme, established by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), is funded by major gum manufacturers including Mars Wrigley and Perfetti Van Melle. It is open to councils across the UK who wish to clean up gum waste in their boroughs and invest in long-term behaviour change to prevent gum from being dropped in the first place.

Now in its fifth year, the programme has invested £6.46 million in local authority projects and supported the cleaning of more than 4.15 million square metres of pavement across the UK.

The Chewing Gum Task Force was established to tackle chewing gum litter and staining in public spaces while encouraging people to dispose of gum responsibly. Alongside funding for cleaning work, participating councils receive behaviour change resources including signage, posters and social media materials designed to reduce littering.

The council is determined to use this latest funding round to help encourage lasting behaviour change and maintain clean, attractive public spaces for residents, businesses and visitors.

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