NEWS RELEASE
Date: 14 May 2007
Nobel House, 17 Smith Square, London SW1P 3JR
Out of hours telephone 020 7270 8960
Chewing gum litter public awareness campaigns announced
The 16 successful local authorities which applied for paid-for advertising
to support campaigns to prevent chewing gum litter are announced today by
the Chewing Gum Action Group.
The awareness raising campaigns will run in August and September this year using
new campaign visuals, poster-adverts, and supported by wider campaign activities
in each successful local authority.
Minister for Local Environment Quality, Ben Bradshaw, said:
‘I congratulate the successful local authorities and I hope they will make the most of the opportunity this campaign offers to change behaviour by tackling irresponsible disposal of chewing gum in their areas.
‘Irresponsible dropping of chewing gum on pavements is an incredibly antisocial activity that blights our public spaces and that can be very expensive and time consuming for those that have to clear up the mess.’
40 local authorities applied for paid-for advertising from the Chewing Gum Action Group, and the following 16 were successful:
| Bedford | Gosport |
| Blackpool | Kirklees |
| Braintree | Leeds |
| Brighton and Hove | Mansfield |
| Bristol | Middlesbrough |
| Canterbury | Oxford |
| Colchester | Test Valley |
| Enfield | Wolverhampton |
This year’s campaigns follow hot on the heels of those run last year, which saw an average reduction in chewing gum litter of 38%, with one area achieving 72%.
Notes to editors
- The Chewing Gum Action Group is chaired by Defra and it brings together representatives from EnCams (which runs the Keep Britain Tidy Campaign), Local Government Association, local government representation, Chartered Institution of Wastes Management, chewing gum industry and the Biscuit, Cake, Chocolate and Confectionery Association (BCCCA).
- The chewing gum industry is working closely with Government and other partners to tackle the problem of chewing gum litter through the Chewing Gum Action Group. Industry has committed an annual sum of £650,000 to the Chewing Gum Action Group. As a key member of CGAG, the chewing gum Industry also provides additional support on a rolling basis which is not calculated as part of this figure.
- An awareness campaign ran last year under the banner, ‘Thanks for Binning Your Gum, When You’re Done’. The campaign was informed by research into the attitudes and awareness of droppers commissioned by the Group in 2004.
- More information on the Group, past campaigns and research can be found at www.defra.gov.uk/environment/localenv/litter/gum/
- The Group has been working with its design agency to update the campaign visual with the objective of changing people’s behaviour and educating people on the responsible disposal of chewing gum.
- Local authorities that have not been selected for paid-for campaigns can still use the campaign creative if they choose to do so.
- Chewing gum was explicitly defined as litter under the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005. The offence of dropping litter can lead to a maximum fine of £2,500 after summary conviction. A local authority can offer a person found to litter a fixed penalty notice as an alternative (for a first offence).
- The Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005 gave greater powers and flexibility to local authorities to enforce against local environmental offences. The Fixed Penalty Notice level for litter can now be locally set between the range £50 to £80. A discount can be offered for early payment. Those authorised to issue Fixed Penalty Notices must meet training and competence requirements.
- The Group is encouraging all local authorities to make use of the enforcement opportunities available to them in maintaining acceptable levels of local environmental quality, and to take action against those responsible for littering.
- The Local Environmental Quality Survey of England has found chewing gum staining in 96% of primary retail and commercial sites.
- It can be expensive to remove engrained chewing gum from surfaces. It is possible that local authorities that carry out regular cleansing can spend up to £200,000 a year. This should not be extrapolated to a national figure because cleansing practices and frequencies (as well as the scale of the problem) can vary significantly. It has been suggested that the average spend is in the region of £13,000 a year, but this will vary between local authorities depending on the amount of litter and attention spent on cleansing.
End
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Page published: 14 May 2007