Latest news with #ChewingGumTaskForce
STV News
13 hours ago
- Business
- STV News
Dedicated task force removes thousands of pieces of chewing gum from city streets
Thousands of pieces of chewing gum have been removed from Aberdeen city centre thanks to a £27,500 grant. The clean-up on Union Street comes after Aberdeen City Council became one of 52 areas across the country that successfully applied to the Chewing Gum Task Force. Aberdeen City Council co-leader councillor Ian Yuill said: 'This additional action to remove chewing gum really helps with the shared aim of improving the city centre. 'The area should be pleasant and attractive for the benefit of all businesses, visitors, and residents. 'The £27,500 grant from the Chewing Gum Task Force is a welcome boost to enable more cleaning and to introduce signage aimed at preventing the unacceptable practice of discarding chewing gum. 'The collective work is important and will hopefully be able to make a lasting difference.' Cleaning teams use a machine to remove detritus from the pavements to see the gum, and then they use heat and low pressure to melt the gum away. Aberdeen City Council Net Zero's environment and transport vice convener, councillor Miranda Radley, said removing gum takes 'time and money' and has urged residents to keep the streets clean. 'The council's cleansing team work hard keeping Union Street free of litter. 'We'd ask people, as always, not to drop litter, including chewing gum, as it is unsightly and its removal takes time and money.' The £27,500 grant awarded to Aberdeen City Council was part of a UK-wide chewing gum task force grant scheme. The scheme was established by the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and run by environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy. The task force, a new fund aimed at helping authorities clean chewing gum from the UK's towns and cities, has given £7m to councils across the UK. Allison Ogden-Newton OBE, chief executive of Keep Britain Tidy, said: 'Chewing gum continues to be an unsightly form of litter in our public spaces – though thankfully the scheme is leading to significant reductions. 'People need to remember that disposing irresponsibly of their gum causes harm to our environment as it takes years to decompose naturally – and, ultimately, costs the public purse to clean it up.' Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
BBC News
24-07-2025
- General
- BBC News
Machine blasts chewing gum off Farnborough town centre streets
Chewing gum is being blasted from the streets of a town centre thanks to a £17,300 clean-up in Farnborough comes after Rushmoor Borough Council became one of 52 areas across the country to receive money from the Chewing Gum Task Guinness, council cabinet member, said: "Chewing gum is unsightly and nobody wants it stuck on the end of their shoes and then traipsed in through their house."She said the clean-up makes people think twice about dropping their gum on the floor. "People think more afterwards about what they're doing and and you find that for quite a long time people don't put their chewing gum on the floor and do actually use the bins."She added: "Hopefully Farnborough will look amazing."Cleaning teams used a machine to clean away detritus from the pavements to see the then use heat and low pressure which melts the gum so it drains away along with other dirt. Cleanliness Town centres and markets manager Diane Highet said: "We want a town centre that people are proud to visit."We want people to be able to sit and not have to worry about what they're sitting in."According to a recent council survey 98% of people were concerned about the cleanliness of town centres. Some shoppers who spoke to the BBC backed the clean-up, while one thought it was a waste of money. Paul Hamilton welcomed the move. "I've trodden in it, I think we all have, it's horrible," he Chapman, from Farnborough, added: "It's a very good idea. It's disgusting on the streets."The Chewing Gum Task Force was established by the government and is administered by Keep Britain Tidy. It brings together major gum producers to clean-up litter on the streets.
BBC News
14-07-2025
- General
- BBC News
Chewing gum: Tackling a sticky issue in Ards and North Down
Chewing gum splattered streets in Ards and North Down are set for a fresh start as the council tackles one of its stickiest litter problems has received £27,500 in funding for a high-powered street washing machine, thanks to a grant from the Chewing Gum Task Force. The area's mayor, councillor Gillian McCollum, is delighted that the council is one of 52 across the UK to benefit from the clean-up said tourism and visitor footfall was an important part of the area's business economy and that "we want to do everything we can to make the area as attractive as possible". 'Gum comes right off' On the streets of Bangor, County Down, street cleaner and driver team leader Paul Agnew, said he believes the machine will be a real boost to their service."It is much more effective - the sweepers can't lift the gum," he explained. "This new machine heats up to 110C."There are specific chewing gum attachments for it, but we don't even need to use them because there is such high pressure - the gum just comes right off." 'I think it's disgusting' On Bangor's Main Street, residents had mixed feelings about the gum problem, but welcomed the council's Uprichard, 78, believes we should go even further to tackle the issue."It's disgusting, it really is such a bad look," he said."We should do what they do elsewhere which is ban it." Cecilia Adu, 75, believes gum littering in Bangor is not as bad as other cities in the UK."It isn't as rampant here. I lived in England before and it was worse."However, I still think the money is still worth spending," she Bangor resident, Rain Barago-Maurer, 24, said it was a problem she was very aware of, particularly near the marina. "It is definitely something I have noticed in Bangor and it would be a great investment."I don't chew gum myself because I don't like to have litter and then have nowhere to dispose of it," Rain told BBC News NI. "There also needs to be some small bins scattered around the area designated for chewing gum." 'Removing gum a huge problem' According to Keep Britain Tidy, councils across the UK spend, on average, around £7m annually trying to remove Chewing Gum Task Force (CGTF) is funded by major gum manufacturers including Mars, Wrigley and Perfetti Van Melle, with an investment of up to £10m spread over five McCollum said gum could become a "huge problem" if it was not disposed of correctly due to the length of time it takes to decompose."We also know from our street cleaners who work for the borough that removing the gum is a huge problem," she added. 'Reinforcing good behaviour' A report from social enterprise Behaviour Change revealed that in areas treated under the CGTF scheme, gum littering was reduced by as much as 80% within two months, benefits that were still evident six months later thanks to targeted cleaning and prominent there are currently no plans for special signage in Ards and North Down, McCollum believes cleaner streets alone will act as a deterrent. "It has the knock on effect of discouraging people to dispose of gum more responsibly," she said."It is really just reinforcing good behaviour. A clean tidy appearance encourages people to take pride in their area and act responsibly." Established by Whitehall's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the CGTF is run by charity Keep Britain grant will allow Ards and North Down council to roll out the gum removing machine across Bangor, Newtownards, Comber, Holywood and Donaghadee.
Yahoo
18-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Heckmondwike deep cleanse to be funded by Chewing Gum Task Force
The Chewing Gum Task Force has given more than £20,000 of funding to Kirklees Council to help tackle gum litter. Last year, 16,503 pieces of gum litter were removed from streets in Huddersfield and Dewsbury, and this year the spotlight will be on Heckmondwike and Marsden, according to a spokesperson for the council. £26,450 has been received by the council to fund the efforts. A one-off, deep cleanse around Heckmondwike town centre is planned, to complement bus station development works. Funding will also be used to clear up gum litter in Marsden town centre and at the town's train station. Allison Ogden-Newton OBE, chair of Keep Britain Tidy, which runs the Chewing Gum Task Force, said: "People need to remember that disposing irresponsibly of their gum causes harm to our environment as it takes years to decompose naturally – and, ultimately, costs the public purse to clean up." Kirklees is one of 52 councils to have successfully applied for funding this year from the Chewing Gum Task Force, which was established by the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs and which is funded by such major gum manufacturers as Mars Wrigley and Perfetti Van Melle.
BBC News
09-04-2025
- Business
- BBC News
North Yorkshire Council seeking cash for chewing gum clean equipment
A council is seeking funding for equipment to remove chewing gum from Yorkshire Council has applied for £27,500 from Keep Britain Tidy (KBT) for the money is given to the charity by chewing gum manufacturers as part of the Chewing Gum Task Force schemeThe streets of Northallerton, Scarborough and Selby would be initially targeted, with the equipment used across all areas of North Yorkshire over the next 12 months if the bid was successful. According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, a council report stated: "The scheme, administered by independent charity Keep Britain Tidy, sees the chewing gum firms invest up to £10m over five years to achieve two objectives; cleaning up historic gum staining and changing behaviour so that more people bin their gum." The grants are supplemented by gum litter prevention packages for each council, including behaviour change signage and advice, which is designed and produced by social enterprise Behaviour Keane Duncan, executive member for highways and transportation, said the application followed their success in bidding for support in 2024."We are hoping to purchase more equipment to support our street cleansing efforts across even more areas within the county."He said chewing gum was the second-most littered item, after cigarette ends."It's particularly tricky to remove, does not biodegrade and poses a particular risk to wildlife," he added. Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
