Chewing gum manufacturers have been urged to help councils cover the multi-million pound cost of cleaning gum from England’s streets.
Local authorities pushed firms to foot a ‘substantial’ part of the £60m annual cost of removing gum from town centres.
While town halls are not legally required to clean up gum, the Local Government Association (LGA) wants manufacturers to contribute towards the costs of ensuing proper disposal. It is thought that while an average piece of gum costs around 3p to buy, clean up expenses stand at around 50 times that figure.
‘Chewing gum is a plague on our pavements. It is a blight which costs councils a fortune to clean up and takes hours of hard work to remove. It's ugly, it's unsightly and it's unacceptable,’ LGA environment spokesman Cllr Peter Box said.
‘The UK gum industry is a multi-million pound business and we believe in the principle of the “polluter” paying. The chewing gum giants should be making a substantial contribution to help with the sterling work that councils are doing in removing it.’
Westminster Council claims around six tonnes of gum is dropped on the streets of the West End every year, with almost a million pieces stuck to the streets at any one time.
Cllr Ed Argar, Westminster’s cabinet member for city management, transport and infrastructure, said: ‘Dealing with the sticky mess of discarded chewing gum on our streets swallows a huge amount of resources, in terms of both money and man-hours.
‘Something needs to change if we are to find a real and lasting solution to the problem, rather than just dealing with the consequences. It is why we want everyone – from manufacturers to those who buy and chew the gum – to take greater responsibility for helping solve this problem.’
Gum manufacturer Wrigley confirmed it took the issue of gum littering ‘very seriously’.
A spokesperson added: ‘Wrigley is dedicated to tackling the issue of litter and will continue to support these and other initiatives that focus on achieving behavioural change amongst the few who continue to dispose of their waste irresponsibly.’
Local government minister Kris Hopkins said: 'This Government has no interest in an additional gum tax. VAT is already charged on chewing gum and councils have a range of powers to tackle litter louts - so adding another layer of taxation is neither necessary nor appropriate.
'Councils would be better to promote social responsibility and ensure the decent provision of litter bins.
'However, we would be keen for manufacturers to take forward making their gum biodegradable - new technology is better a solution than new taxes.'
