Sunderland has been awarded thousands of pounds to help remove chewing gum stains from its streets as part of a new national drive to keep towns and cities clean.
The city council is one of more than 40 in line for a share of £7m from the Government's new Chewing Gum Task Force. It has been established by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and it is run by charity Keep Britain Tidy.
As well as funding to removed chewing gum from our pavements, the task force cash is also going towards measures to prevent it being discarded on the streets in the first place. The funding announced is the first to be awarded from a £10m pot of cash provided by big chewing gum firms like Mars Wrigley and Perfetti Van Melle over the next five years.
Environment Secretary George Eustice said: "Littering blights our towns and costs taxpayers money. Working with responsible gum manufacturers, we are now giving councils extra help to clean up our cities and towns. This means we can double down on regenerating our high streets, boosting local economies and levelling up communities across the country."
Allison Ogden-Newton OBE - chief exec of Keep Britain Tidy - said: "This is an exciting new opportunity for councils to tackle the ongoing problem of gum pollution. The grants will allow councils to clean up historic gum litter staining in our towns and cities, as well as taking action to prevent people littering in the first place."
The Government added that the funding formed part of its strategy to support high street regeneration around the UK. Littering is a criminal offence, and the Government has also increased local authority enforcement powers so that on-the-spot littering penalties can hit £150 - while offenders can also be taken to court. A conviction could lead to a £2,500 fine.
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