Barking and Dagenham Council is clearing its transport hubs from chewing gum litter thanks to a £35,000 grant from the Chewing Gum Task Force.

The Chewing Gum Task Force scheme, managed by the environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy, involves targeted street cleaning and specially designed signage to encourage people to bin their gum. 

It was set up by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) to tackle the growing problem of gum litter in towns and cities; estimated to cost the taxpayer around £7 million a year in the UK. 

Pavements which see high footfall outside the borough’s train stations have been pressure washed and eye-catching signage has been put up on bins to prompt people to use them.

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Dedicated gum bins have also been installed on lampposts. Known as Gumdrop bins, they’re not only designed specifically for the disposal of waste chewing gum but are also made with waste chewing gum. The bins have been proven to reduce chewing gum litter by up to 78 per cent in the first 12 weeks of use. 

Major chewing gum producers, including Mars Wrigley and Perfetti Van Melle are backing the scheme, which was set up in 2021, and are expected to invest up to £10 million over a five-year period.

Councillor Kashif Haroon, Cabinet Member for Public Realm and Climate Change, visited Barking Station to take a look at the results. He said: “I hope the increased signage and new gum recycling bins will encourage people to think twice about littering our streets.

“We know that having clean streets is a top priority for our residents and we will not tolerate anyone who thinks it’s okay to spoil the borough by throwing their rubbish on the floor. 

“Chewing gum litter wastes taxpayers’ money and we’re determined to put a stop to it.”