Colchester City Council has received more funding to help remove chewing gum from its streets. The council has purchased new equipment to help with the clean-up, including a Glutton electric vacuum, three handheld electric vacuums, and decals that read ‘Bin Your Gum.’ The decals have been placed on a van used to clean the city streets, which the council was able to purchase with funding awarded in 2022.
The new equipment, which was funded by a £21,856 grant from the Chewing Gum Task Force, an initiative of Defra, environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy and major chewing gum manufacturers, will help the council remove chewing gum more efficiently and effectively.
The Glutton electric vacuum is a powerful machine that can remove chewing gum from pavements without damaging them. The handheld electric vacuums are smaller and more portable, making them ideal for cleaning up gum in hard-to-reach places. The decals are a reminder to people to dispose of their chewing gum properly.
The council received the grant last month. It is the second time the council has received funding from the Chewing Gum Task Force. In 2022, it was awarded £20,000 to purchase a new cleaning vehicle and install signage in litter hotspots to warn people not to drop gum.
Cllr Martin Goss, Portfolio Holder for Neighbourhoods & Waste, said: “We are delighted to have received this new equipment to help us tackle chewing gum litter. Chewing gum is a blight on our streets and it is important that we do everything we can to remove it. This new equipment will make a real difference and I hope that it will encourage people to bin their chewing gum instead of dropping it on the ground.”
The new equipment is now in use and the council is working to target city centre hot spots for chewing gum litter. The council is also working to raise awareness of the issue of chewing gum litter and to encourage people to bin their chewing gum.
The new street cleaner and vehicle livery are the latest in a series of measures taken to tackle chewing gum litter. In 2019, the council installed 34 pink Gumdrop bins across the city centre. The bins are designed to make it easy for people to dispose of their chewing gum responsibly.
Pictured above: Cllr Goss and senior neighbourhood operative Paul Wyborn with the Glutton electric vacuum.
Page last reviewed: 14 August 2023