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Chewing Gum Task Force

Y3 Applications to the Chewing Gum Task Force 2024 are now closed.

Successful applicants will be notified mid/late May 2024.

Year three fund launched to tackle chewing gum staining 

The Chewing Gum Task Force brings together some of the UK’s major chewing gum producers (Mars Wrigley and Perfetti Van Melle) in a partnership to remove gum litter from UK high streets and prevent future littering.

The scheme, administered by independent charity Keep Britain Tidy, sees the chewing gum firms invest up to £10 million over five years to achieve two objectives; cleaning up historic gum staining and changing behaviour so that more people bin their gum.

Grants of up to £27,500 will be available to councils in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales towards the purchase of cleaning equipment and/or street cleansing this year, marking a 10% increase on the amounts available last year.

The grants are supplemented by fully-funded gum litter prevention packages for each council, including targeted behaviour change signage and advice, designed and produced by social enterprise Behaviour Change.  

By combining targeted street cleansing with specially designed signage to encourage people to bin their gum, participating councils have seen reductions in gum littering of up to 80% in the first two months, with a reduced rate of gum littering still being observed after six months.

Last year 55 councils across the UK benefitted from the special grant fund, helping clean an area equivalent to the size of the Vatican City, with funding totalling £1.65m.

 

Allison Ogden-Newton OBE, Chief Executive of Keep Britain Tidy, said:

“After a second highly successful year of tackling gum littering, I am delighted that we are able to continue to support councils through a third year of grant awards and encourage communities to take pride in their local areas by keeping their streets clean. 

“Gum is an unsightly form of litter in our public spaces that causes harm to our environment as it takes years to decompose naturally – and, ultimately, costs the taxpayer to clean it up.”

 

Naomi Jones, Corporate Affairs Director at Mars Wrigley UK, said:

“Mars Wrigley has a proud track record of investing in litter prevention initiatives. In its first two years, the Chewing Gum Task Force has already made incredible progress, supporting 92 councils in every corner of the country to clean almost 3,000,000 m2.  

“The Task Force’s work has shown that reductions in gum litter can be sustained over time, and we’re looking forward to building on these achievements and going even further together in the coming year.”    

 

Hayley Osborne, Communications and Sustainability Manager, Perfetti Van Melle said:

“As we reach the midpoint of the Chewing Gum Task Force’s campaign, it’s amazing to witness the positive effects the chewing gum clean-up operations have had on our streets, the shift in citizens’ behaviours and the significance and value recognised by the UK councils involved.  

“As we begin the third year, we’ve taken the learnings and experiences from the first two years and will use these to enhance all efforts to make another positive impact for all involved.”  

Which councils received funding in year one (2022) ?

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The following councils received a Chewing Gum Task Force grant in Year 1 (2022) either as an individual council or as part of a partnership:

  • Ards & North Down Borough Council 

  • Bassetlaw District Council 

  • Belfast City Council 

  • Birmingham City Council 

  • Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council 

  • Broxtowe Borough Council 

  • City of London Corporation 

  • Bury Council and Bolton Council 

  • Camden Council and Brent Council 

  • Colchester City Council 

  • Croydon Council 

  • Denbighshire County Council 

  • Exeter City Council 

  • Fermanagh & Omagh District Council 

  • Flintshire County Council 

  • Gravesham Borough Council 

  • Glasgow City Council and North Lanarkshire Council 

  • Haringey Council 

  • Hull City Council 

  • Havering Council and LB Barking and Dagenham Council 

  • Ipswich Borough Council 

  • Islington Council 

  • Leicester City Council 

  • Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council 

  • London Borough of Lewisham 

  • Mid & East Antrim Borough Council 

  • LB Newham Council and LB Redbridge Council 

  • Mid Devon District Council 

  • Mid Ulster District Council 

  • Newport City Council 

  • Newry Mourne & Down District Council 

  • North East Lincolnshire Council 

  • Pendle Borough Council 

  • North Hertfordshire District Council and East Herts District Council 

  • Nottingham City Council and Derby City Council 

  • Sevenoaks District Council 

  • Shetland Islands Council 

  • South Lanarkshire Council 

  • Southend City Council 

  • Spelthorne Borough Council and Runnymede 

  • Sunderland City Council 

  • Swansea Council 

  • West Northamptonshire Council 

  • West Suffolk Council and Babergh Mid Suffolk 

Which councils received funding in year two (2023) ?

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The following councils received a Chewing Gum Task Force grant in Year 2 (2023):

  • Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council
  • Blackpool Council
  • Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council
  • Braintree District Council
  • Bridgend County Borough Council
  • Canterbury City Council
  • Cardiff Council
  • Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council
  • City of Doncaster Council
  • City of London Corporation
  • Colchester City Council
  • Cumberland Council
  • Cyngor Gwynedd
  • Derry City and Strabane District Council
  • Ealing Council
  • East Cambridgeshire District Council
  • Fermanagh and Omagh District Council
  • Glasgow City Council
  • Haringey Council
  • Ipswich Borough Council
  • Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council
  • Leeds City Council
  • Lewes District Council
  • Liverpool City Council
  • London Borough of Hackney
  • London Borough of Lambeth
  • London Borough of Newham
  • London Borough of Waltham Forest
  • Manchester City Council
  • Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council
  • Mid and East Antrim Borough Council
  • Mid Ulster District Council
  • Middlesbrough Council
  • Milton Keynes City Council
  • Newark and Sherwood City Council
  • Newcastle City Council
  • Newport City Council
  • North Devon Council
  • North Tyneside Council
  • Oxford City Council
  • Pendle Borough Council
  • Redbridge Council
  • Rhondda Cynon Taff County Borough Council
  • Rushcliffe Borough Council
  • Sevenoaks District Council
  • South Lanarkshire Council
  • South Tyneside Council 
  • Southend-on-Sea City Council
  • Stoke-on-Trent City Council
  • Sunderland City Council
  • Tewkesbury Borough Council
  • Warrington
  • Wigan Council
  • Wiltshire Council
  • Wirral Borough Council

Contact us

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If you have any questions about any aspect of applying for a grant, please consult the guidance document and FAQs before emailing: chewinggumtaskforce@keepbritaintidy.org

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