Chewing gum blasted from South Lanarkshire streets thanks to grant

A successful initiative to remove chewing gum from the streets of South Lanarkshire has been completed, thanks to a grant of £27,045 from the Chewing Gum Task Force. Over the last few months, this grant has been utilised to target areas heavily affected by discarded chewing gum as part of the local authority’s It’s Your Place campaign. Councillor Robert Brown, chair of the council’s community and enterprise resources committee, expressed satisfaction with the project’s outcomes, noting that this funding was secured specifically for gum removal for the third consecutive year.

Part of the broader It’s Your Place campaign, the chewing gum clean-up project aims to address litter and antisocial behaviour that detracts from the community’s aesthetics. In addition to physically removing the gum, the funding facilitated the placement of ‘bin your gum’ stickers on street bins in highly impacted zones. South Lanarkshire Council is among 54 councils nationwide that received grants from environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy, supported by major gum manufacturers such as Mars Wrigley and Perfetti Van Melle.

Allison Ogden-Newton OBE, chief executive of Keep Britain Tidy, highlighted the financial burden gum littering places on councils and the effectiveness of clean-up efforts in reducing gum litter six months post-intervention. The initiative’s success was also attributed to behaviour change strategies and prevention signage implemented in affected areas. The positive impact of the project underscores the importance of ongoing efforts to maintain clean and attractive public spaces for residents and workers in the community.