Discarded chewing gum is a major, and growing, problem, especially in town centre areas.
Blobs of gum on the street can make an area look dirty, even when it’s clean.
Did you know…?
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On average, a piece of chewing gum costs about 3 pence, but the cost of removal is about 10 pence per piece.
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Wrigley say chewing gum is used by 28 million people in the UK
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Chewing gum takes up to 5 years to biodegrade.
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During the last 5 years Wrigley has invested over £5 million and dedicated three full-time R&D staff to the challenge of producing a more easily removable chewing gum
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Some countries are considering putting a tax on gum to help pay for the clean-up costs
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In Singapore, chewing gum is banned unless you have a prescription from your doctor or dentist.
The removal of chewing gum is a time-consuming and costly exercise.
Falkirk Council has a special high-pressure washer system to remove chewing gum from our streets and pavements, which it does on a rolling basis around in Falkirk town centre and in the districts.
However, this is not the sustainable answer!
If you chew gum, please ensure that you put it in a bin. If there is no bin available, wrap it in a piece of paper and wait until you do find a bin.