Merton Council secures funding to address chewing gum litter in three targeted areas

· by · in Clean streets, Keep It Clean Love Merton, Recycling and waste. ·

Merton Council has secured a £26,438 grant from the Chewing Gum Task Force, overseen by environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy, to combat chewing gum litter in Wimbledon, Morden, and Colliers Wood.

The council was successful in its bid to remove chewing gum in three key locations: outside Wimbledon Station, Morden Station, and Colliers Wood Station, along with their surrounding areas. This initiative, funded by the grant, aims to tackle gum litter in these targeted areas.

This funding will enable Merton Council to implement comprehensive plans to clean up existing gum litter and prevent future occurrences.

The Chewing Gum Task Force, established by Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) and administered by Keep Britain Tidy, invites councils nationwide to apply for support in cleaning up gum and promoting long-term prevention measures. Major gum manufacturers, including Mars Wrigley and Perfetti Van Melle, fund the initiative with a commitment of up to £10 million over five years.

Leader of Merton Council, Ross Garrod, said:

“We are delighted to have secured this funding from Keep Britain Tidy, which will help us tackle chewing gum litter and keep our streets clean around Wimbledon, Morden, and Colliers Wood stations.

This initiative aligns perfectly with our council’s commitment to making our high streets and town centres cleaner and more welcoming environments for everyone to enjoy. We support thriving high streets and believe that clean, attractive public spaces are essential for vibrant communities and local businesses.

“We can’t wait to start the clean-up and see the positive impact on our community.”

Estimates suggest the annual clean-up cost of chewing gum for councils in the UK is around £7 million and, according to Keep Britain Tidy, around 77% of England’s streets and 99% of retail sites are stained with gum.

In its second year the task force awarded 55 councils a total of £1.56 million, helping clean an estimated 440,000 m2 of pavement – an area equivalent to the Vatican City.

By combining targeted street cleaning with specially designed signage to encourage people to bin their gum, participating councils achieved reductions in gum littering of up to 60% in the first two months.

Merton’s in-house street cleansing service will operate jet washing equipment which will undertake a variety of tasks including the removal of chewing gum at identified hotspot locations.