A town has been given help from a chewing gum task force after counting 55 pieces of gum in one square metre.
Lewes District Council has been awarded a £25,000 grant from the Chewing Gum Task Force.
It comes after 55 pieces of chewing gum were counted in one square metre at Lewes Railway Station when they were studying the mess that has been “blemishing” the historic town’s streets.
Chewing gum can be removed by using an eco-friendly detergent which is heated and sprayed onto the gum using a jet washer to vaporise it.
Councillor Wendy Maples, cabinet member for neighbourhood wellbeing, said: “These funds are very welcome to help clear the chewing gum scourge.
“In the space of just one square metre at Lewes Railway Station we counted 55 pieces of chewing gum.
“Chewing gum littering is an eyesore, of course, but if you’ve ever had to pick and clip gum from a dog’s paw, you’ll know it’s worse than that. Sticky chewing gum can also be a trip hazard for people with mobility difficulties.
“Alongside removing the gum that’s been dropped, we will also be looking at methods to prevent chewing gum mess blemishing our streets in the future.”
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The task force was set up by Defra and is run by charity Keep Britain Tidy. It also includes gum manufacturers including Mars Wrigley and Perfetti Van Melle.
Estimates suggest the annual clean-up cost of chewing gum for councils in the UK is around £7 million pounds and, according to Keep Britain Tidy, around 77 per cent of England’s streets and 99 per cent of retail sites are stained with gum.
Allison Ogden-Newton OBE, Keep Britain Tidy’s chief executive, said: “Chewing gum litter is highly visible on our high streets and is both difficult and expensive to clean up, so the support for councils provided by the chewing gum task force and the gum manufacturers is very welcome.
“However, once the gum has been cleaned up, it is vital to remind the public that when it comes to litter, whether it’s gum or anything else, there is only one place it should be – in the bin – and that is why the behaviour change element of the task force’s work is so important.”
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