Major chewing gum producers, brought together by government, have
signed up to a new £10 million partnership to remove gum litter
from our high streets, Environment Minister announced today.
The scheme, including Mars Wrigley, GlaxoSmithKline and Perfetti
Van Melle and managed by independent charity Keep Britain Tidy,
will see gum firms invest up to £10 million over the next five
years to help reduce gum litter.
Chewing gum litter is a blight on our towns and cities and wastes
millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money every year; the annual
clean-up cost is estimated at £7 million. Around 87% of England’s
streets are stained with gum, according to research by Keep
Britain Tidy.
The investment, starting later this year, will be used to clean
up historic gum litter staining and use behavioural interventions
to encourage people to bin their gum. Previous pilots have
reduced gum littering by up to 64%.
Littering is a criminal offence and the Government has already
empowered local authorities by increasing on-the-spot penalties
for offenders to £150, rising to up to £2,500 if convicted in
court. The Government is seeking powers in the Environment Bill
to ensure that enforcement powers are used with a high degree of
professionalism, whether by council staff or private contractors,
and to place our improved enforcement guidance on a firm
statutory footing.
The Task Force is part of the Government’s new strategy to support the
evolution and regeneration of high streets across the
country, which includes 15 Town Deals totalling £335
million to fund community regeneration projects, the
transformation of derelict buildings, and communities being given
the chance to own local pubs, theatres, sports grounds and corner
shops.
Environment Minister said:
The stains of discarded chewing gum are a blight on our
communities, spoiling our streets and wasting millions of pounds
of taxpayers’ money.
This new scheme means chewing gum producers are not only helping
to clean up towns and cities as they welcome people back to our
high streets, but crucially taking action to prevent people
littering in the first place.
We are committed to building back better and greener and this
commitment to making town centres a more attractive and inviting
place is a key part of our long-term strategy to breathe new life
into our communities.
Jonny Briscoe, Managing Director, Perfetti Van Melle - PVM UK,
commented:
As an organisation serious about corporate responsibility,
Perfetti Van Melle is committed to help with the clean-up of
Britain’s streets and to educate consumers about the importance
of responsible gum disposal.
Allison Ogden-Newton, Chief Executive of environmental charity
Keep Britain Tidy, said:
Keep Britain Tidy are delighted to be working with Defra and the
chewing gum industry to clean up gum from our streets and
critically stop it being dropped in the first place.’
The Chewing Gum Task Force forms part of wider government action
to tackle litter and protect our environment. The Group will also
have the opportunity to share best practice and research in gum
cleansing and litter prevention such as cleaning up, education,
and biodegradability.
The “Keep it, Bin it” anti-litter campaign, supported by Defra
and funded by Mars Wrigley, encourages people to dispose of their
litter responsibly, calling time on rubbish excuses for littering
and telling people to keep hold of their rubbish until they find
a bin.
The Government’s landmark Environment Bill includes powers to
introduce a Deposit Return Scheme
for drinks containers, which will recycle billions more plastic
bottles and stop them going to landfill. Our Extended Producer
Responsibility Scheme will mean companies will be expected to
cover the full cost of recycling and disposing of their
packaging, and through the fees they pay they will be
incentivised to use packaging that can be recycled and meet
higher recycling targets. We have also outlined our intention to
explore regulatory
options to tackle the issue of discarded cigarette butts,
which make up 66% of all littered items.
Consistent Recycling
Collections will be introduced for every household and
business in England, ensuring more plastic is recycled, while
ministers will have new powers to make it easier to place charges
on single-use plastic items that threaten our ecosystems. The
government will also introduce a world-leading plastic packaging tax
from April 2022, on plastic packaging which doesn’t meet a
minimum threshold of at least 30% recycled content, to encourage
greater use of recycled plastic and protect our environment.
Further information
Statistic on cost of chewing gum clean-up taken from Financial Cost of
Packaging Litter – Phase 2 – Final Report, WRAP
Statistic on impact of chewing gum on streets taken from Keep
Britain Tidy research
