Discarded chewing gum is a problem for our city streets but who should be responsible for the clean up?
Should councils impose fines for individuals who drop their chewing gum on the ground? Should more litter bins be provided to make disposal easier? Should all chewing gum be biodegradable? Should chewing gum manufacturers fund the chewing gum clean-up?
Consider these questions as you read this, from the UK's Telegraph:
'For anyone who has had to scrape gum of the sole of their shoe, a solution has been a long time coming.
The call was backed by Kris Hopkins, the local government minister, who said the Government would be “keen” for manufacturers to produce biodegradable gum. It was also supported by the Keep Britain Tidy campaign.
The LGA estimates the annual cost of removing pieces trodden into pavements across England has reached £56 million, with around six tons dropped in the West End of London alone each year.
It claimed that while the average piece of gum costs about 3p to buy, local authorities have to spend around £1.50 to clean it up.
“Chewing gum is a plague on our pavements,” said Peter Box, a councillor in Wakefield, West Yorks, and the LGA’s environment spokesman. “It is a blight which costs councils a fortune to clean up and takes hours of hard work.
“The UK gum industry is a multimillion-pound business and we believe in the principle of the 'polluter’ paying.”
A spokesman for the LGA added: “We are calling for [firms] to show corporate responsibility and to contribute. The main one is Wrigley, which dominates the UK chewing gum market.”
Mr Hopkins said councils should focus on promoting “social responsibility” and ensuring “the decent provision of litter bins”.
“However, we would be keen for manufacturers to take forward making their gum biodegradable,” he added.
Since 2009 Chicza, a biodegradable gum marketed by Mexico’s Mayan farmers, has been sold in British shops including Waitrose. But big companies have previously indicated that such products would not match the “chewing experience” of conventional gum.
A spokesman for Wrigley, which is owned by Mars and produces Orbit and Extra gum, would not say whether they would help pay to clean the streets.
She said they took the issue “very seriously” and were attempting to develop a product “that is easier to remove if disposed of improperly”.
She added: “The only long-term solution to this problem is persuading people to dispose of their chewing gum responsibly, as the large majority already do.”
Wrigleys contributes to the Chewing Gum Action Group, a coalition of manufacturers and councils which says it has reduced overall volumes of gum on pavements by 47 per cent.
Phil Barton, of Keep Britain Tidy, said they supported the idea of gum that is biodegradable or easier to clean off, but that dropping such chewing gum would still be “an unacceptable offence which is subject to a fine of up to £80”. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/foodanddrinknews/11245445/Food-manufacturers-should-fund-chewing-gum-clean-up-costs.html
While a multi-pronged approach is probably required, what should the primary focus be if this sticky situation is to be resolved?