By Paul McConnell

Derry and Strabane Council (DCSDC) has completed a special project aimed at cleaning chewing gum from streets.

Earlier this year, DCSDC received a grant of £27,500 to tackle the problem. It is one off 52 local councils across the UK that applied successfully to the Chewing Gum Task Force. The task force is open to councils across the UK who are committed to tackling the issue of chewing gum on the streets.

It was established by the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and is run by environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy.

A spokesperson for Keep Britain Tidy insisted the efforts of the Task Force have already led to significant reductions in chewing gum litter.

“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,” the organisation said.

In addition to clean-up operations, the Chewing Gum Task Force is also committed to investing in behavioural change to prevent chewing gum litter. John Quinn, “Streetscape”manager at DCSDC, insisted public cooperation was vital to ensure the scheme’s success.

“While the scheme is successfully reducing the occurrences, public cooperation remains essential and we need to get the message out their improper disposal not only causes long term environmental damage due to its slow decomposition, but also results in significant public cleaning costs.

“We need to encourage people to dispose of their chewing gum properly, and use the bins provided,” Mr Quinn said.