Residents and visitors across Watford are benefiting from cleaner, more welcoming shopping areas following a chewing gum removal project funded through the Chewing Gum Task Force Grant Scheme...
The project was delivered with the support of Veolia, whose teams carried out the chewing gum removal across the town. This was after Watford Borough Council successfully secured funding through the scheme, administered by Keep Britain Tidy, for three consecutive years, receiving almost £25,000 in total to tackle the issue.
Chewing gum is one of the most common forms of litter in the UK. Estimates suggest it costs councils around £7 million each year to remove gum from streets and public spaces. According to Keep Britain Tidy, around 77% of England’s streets and 99% of retail sites are stained with chewing gum.
Previously, the council focused on chewing gum removal in two of Watford’s shopping streets, St Albans Road and Queen’s Road. This year’s project focused on removing gum from 10 shopping parades covering approximately 5,718m² of public space and around 1km of pavement.
Veolia completed the cleaning work in the following locations:
- The Brow (Woodside)
- Haines Way (Woodside)
- Horseshoe Lane (Woodside)
- North Approach (Stanborough)
- Orbital Crescent (Stanborough)
- Garden Park Parade (Meriden)
- St Albans Road (Meriden)
- The Gossamers (Meriden)
- Bushey Mill Lane (Tudor)
- Goodwood Parade, Courtlands Drive (Leggatts)
- Foxhill (Leggatts)
Veolia further supported the anti-littering campaign, with new signs installed across the area to encourage people to dispose of chewing gum responsibly. Veolia also asked local businesses at the 10 shopping parades across Watford to support the campaign by displaying “Bin Your Gum” stickers in their shop windows.
Established by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and run by Keep Britain Tidy, the scheme seeks to support the clean up of gum litter and invest in long-term behaviour change. It is funded by Mars Wrigley and Perfetti Van Melle, with an investment over five years.
Elected Mayor of Watford, Peter Taylor, said: “Keeping our streets clean and welcoming is important for residents, businesses and visitors. We’re pleased to have secured funding for a third-year running, by cleaning up chewing gum and encouraging people to put it in the bin, we’re all playing out part to help improve our town and keep Watford looking its best.
“I’d like to thank Veolia for their support in carrying out this work and for the important role they play in keeping our streets clean and tidy all year round.”
Darren Harding, Regional Manager, Veolia, said: “As Watford Council’s recycling, waste collection and street cleansing partner, we are committed to keeping Watford clean and welcoming.
“This campaign gave our street cleansing teams the chance to go beyond their usual work by using specialist equipment to remove chewing gum, while our Educations, Communications and Outreach team engaged with businesses to display signage in their shop windows.
“By combining gum removal with education, we can help maintain these improvements and empower the community to keep Watford clean and green for everyone.”
The council are asking residents and visitors to support the campaign by disposing their chewing bums in bins, helping to keep shopping areas cleaner while reducing litter than can harm wildlife and the environment.
