The first towns and cities to get government grants to clean up chewing gum from their streets have been announced. The Chewing Gum Taskforce is part of new £10million crackdown on litter.
More than 40 councills across the UK will receive grants of up to £70,000 to clean gum off pavements and put in measures to stop it being dropped in the first place. 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 87 per cent of England’s streets are stained with gum.
In Wales, there will be a £1.85m scheme announced to help five councils - Blaenau Gwent, Denbighshire, Flintshire, Newport and Swansea - tackle chewing gum. The funding was announced by the Welsh Government today.
Exeter, Birmingham, Sunderland, Glasgow and Belfast are among the first winners of funding, which is being supported by major gum manufacturers including Mars Wrigley and Perfetti Van Melle.
