Council to start deep clean to remove chewing gum from streets

The local authority is one of the first to be awarded funding from The Chewing Gum Task Force grant scheme, a brand-new fund to help clean chewing gum from the UK’s towns and cities.

The Chewing Gum Task Force was established by Defra and is run by environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy. The funding is the first tranche of a package worth up to £10 million from major gum manufacturers including Mars Wrigley and Perfetti Van Melle to tackle chewing gum stains.

The investment will be spread over five years.

The funding will enable Mid and East Antrim Borough Council to carry out deep cleaning to remove chewing gum stains from Ballymena, Larne and Carrickfergus streets, and install new signage to encourage people to bin their gum in future. Previous pilots run by Mars Wrigley and not-for-profit Behaviour Change using this signage has reduced gum littering by up to 64 per cent.

Alderman Noel Williams, Mayor of Mid and East Antrim said: “We’re delighted to have received this funding from The Chewing Gum Task Force, which will help us tackle the ongoing problem of chewing gum staining and reinvigorate our town centres and public spaces.

“Cleansing will begin around late-August and will take roughly three weeks to complete. We hope that everyone will enjoy our newly cleaned streets and smart new signage.”

Littering is a criminal offence and carries on-the-spot penalties of £80 in Northern Ireland.