The Chewing Gum Action Group (CGAG) has launched a new advertising campaign with the aim of reducing littered gum across the UK.
The eighth annual campaign, ‘Bin it your way’, began on Monday (7 October), and has seen CGAG – which is chaired by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) – partner with 16 local authorities and Business Improvement Districts (BIDs).
CGAG has also brought together other organisations, including Keep Britain Tidy, the Local Government Association, Welsh Government, Scottish Executive Government and Zero Waste Scotland, since it began in 2006.
According to CGAG, last year’s campaign had a ‘significant’ impact on the environment; gum litter levels fell by an average of 54 per cent in participating areas, with some authorities reporting better results. For example, Cardiff Council reported a 93 per cent decrease, whilst Nottingham and Coventry City Councils announced reductions of 88 and 85 per cent respectively.
This year’s advertising campaign features professionally dancers disposing of gum in a ‘fun and engaging way’. It is hoped these adverts will remind people that they should be disposing of the their used chewing gum in a bin, as dropping it on the street could incur a fine of up to £80.
‘Brightly coloured’ adverts have also been placed in a range of locations across participating local authorities and districts, including roadside banners, bus stops, lampposts, and telephone kiosks.
Chewing gum litter is a ‘real nuisance’
Launching the campaign, Minister for Local Environment, Lord de Mauley, said: “Chewing gum litter is a real nuisance which is a difficult and expensive for councils to remove. I’m fully behind this campaign which encourages people to look after their local communities and keep our streets clean and tidy.”
Chief Executive at Keep Britain Tidy, Phil Barton, added: "As a group we are committed to tackling the issue of gum litter to help create cleaner, more attractive places to live and work. We believe this year’s campaign will build on the success of previous years and lead to a significant reduction of chewing gum litter in the partner regions."
The ‘Bin it your way’ campaign is the latest in a string of attempts to reduce chewing gum litter. For instance, on 6 August, Cardiff Council launched a trial of 100 new GUMDROP chewing gum recycling bins(which are made from recycled chewing gum) in Cardiff city centre.
Read more about the ‘Bin it your way’ campaign.
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