Cambridge BID launches campaign to change behaviour towards chewing gum disposal

Now in its 10th year, the annual campaign sees representatives from the chewing gum industry, Government and environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy working with councils and Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) across the whole of the UK to develop local initiatives to reduce chewing gum litter.

Partnering with The Chewing Gum Action Group (CGAG), an organisation chaired by Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) and funded by the chewing gum industry to tackle gum litter in the UK, the grey pavements on Christ’s Lane were transformed with brightly-coloured circles to highlight the significant amount of gum that is dropped.

Representatives from Cambridge BID’s Clean Team took to Christ’s Lane to circle every single piece of discarded gum between Drummer Street and St. Andrew’s Street using water soluble fluorescent chalk, and witnessed the public reaction to the eye-catching measle-like patterns created across one of the busiest areas in Cambridge. During the month of October, representatives will then work together to remove the gum, making the streets cleaner and more attractive.

Supporting Cambridge BID’s campaign this year, Cambridge MP Daniel Zeichner, said: "Cambridge is a fantastic city to live in and to visit but we all need to work together to make sure the streets are as clean as possible. It's great Christ’s Lane is being spruced up by having discarded chewing gum removed.

“I hope this campaign will encourage gum chewers to bin their gum within the record number of litter bins in the city so we can make Cambridge even more attractive.”

Now in its 10th year, the annual campaign sees representatives from the chewing gum industry, Government and environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy working with councils and Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) across the whole of the UK to develop local initiatives to reduce chewing gum litter.

The Cambridge BID Clean Team works on a scheduled basis 363 days per year to clean 83 streets, which includes removing gum litter.

Jason Buckley, Operations Manager for Cambridge BID said: “Cambridge BID is taking part in the campaign this year because we wanted to encourage people to be more responsible with the way they dispose of their chewing gum in the city centre.  Chewing gum is a particularly difficult form of litter to get rid of as it’s expensive to remove and soon builds up again.  Our streets and public areas are speckled with discarded chewing gum from individuals who have failed to use the bins provided by the Council, we’re hopeful this campaign will help to change people’s habits.”

CGAG campaign co-ordinator Kristian Bentham added: “Every year for the past 10 years, the Chewing Gum Action Group campaign has delivered some positive results. Through our creative campaign this year, we wanted to highlight that dropping gum is still littering and one that greatly affects the local area.

“We have no doubt this year’s visual campaign will raise further awareness and have a lasting impact on residents and shoppers. We are delighted to be working with Cambridge BID this year to help them create a cleaner place to live and work.”

Nine BIDs and local authorities from across the UK are taking part in this year’s campaign. For more information, please visit www.chewinggumactiongroup.org.uk

Image:  L TO R: Daniel Zeichner MP for Cambridge, Jason Buckley Operations Manager for Cambridge BID and the Mayor of Cambridge Cllr Robert Dryden.  In the background are the Cambridge BID ambassadors.


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