New funding to help tackle chewing gum litter across Runnymede

The funding will support targeted cleaning of gum-stained pavements alongside a behaviour change campaign designed to encourage people to dispose of their chewing gum responsibly.

Runnymede is one of 50 councils across the UK to receive funding through the Chewing Gum Task Force grant scheme, now in its fifth year. The scheme, established by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and administered by environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy, helps councils clean gum from streets while encouraging long-term behaviour change.

The Task Force is funded by major gum manufacturers, including Mars Wrigley and Perfetti Van Melle, through an investment of up to £10 million over five years.

Since the scheme launched, grants totalling £6.46 million have funded the cleaning of more than 4.15 million square metres of pavements across the UK.

Independent monitoring and evaluation by Behaviour Change, a not-for-profit social enterprise, has found that targeted street cleaning combined with specially designed signage can reduce gum littering by up to 86% within the first two months. Lower levels of gum litter have continued to be seen six months after the initial work.

According to Keep Britain Tidy, around 77% of England's streets and 99% of retail sites are stained with discarded chewing gum.

Allison Ogden-Newton OBE, Chief Executive of Keep Britain Tidy, said:

"While chewing gum litter remains a stubborn eyesore in our public spaces, the good news is that this scheme is already driving major improvements.

"As an environmental charity, we know that every piece of gum dropped irresponsibly damages the environment, taking years to break down naturally, while also leaving taxpayers to foot the bill for costly clean-up operations.

"Everyone in Runnymede can play a part in creating cleaner, greener streets for all by binning their gum properly."