As many as 35 towns and cities across the country have joined Westminster Council’s campaign to introduce a levy on chewing gum to pay for cleaning up discarded gum stuck to the streets.
Local authorities have called on manufacturer Wrigley to act, saying a 1p levy on each packet sold would raise around £9m, which could fund an education campaign about responsible disposal.
Westminster hosted the UK’s first capital cities’ Gum Summit in February, attended by representatives from Dublin, Cardiff, Edinburgh and Belfast, at which it was claimed that cleaning the streets of chewing gum costs local authorities £150m a year.
Since the summit, councillors from other local authorities such as Aberdeen, Brighton, Liverpool, Nottingham and Middlesbrough have indicated support for the campaign.
Local authorities have called on manufacturer Wrigley to act, saying a 1p levy on each packet sold would raise around £9m, which could fund an education campaign about responsible disposal.
Westminster hosted the UK’s first capital cities’ Gum Summit in February, attended by representatives from Dublin, Cardiff, Edinburgh and Belfast, at which it was claimed that cleaning the streets of chewing gum costs local authorities £150m a year.
Since the summit, councillors from other local authorities such as Aberdeen, Brighton, Liverpool, Nottingham and Middlesbrough have indicated support for the campaign.
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