Haringey joins 53 other local authorities benefitting from the grant, which is aimed at cleaning up discarded gum from pavements and preventing future littering.
A recent local resident survey revealed that clean streets are the second-highest priority across the borough. Seema Chandwani, cabinet member for tackling inequality and resident services, said: “As always, our residents have been at the forefront of making this initiative happen. They share their priorities with us, collaborate on solutions, and support us in enforcement efforts.
“With support from the Chewing Gum Task Force, we’ve been able to significantly improve the cleanliness of our streets and enhance the local environment for everyone in Haringey. We want our borough to be a place that residents are proud of and that warmly welcomes others to experience everything it has to offer.
“This investment goes beyond tackling litter; it’s about making Haringey a cleaner, safer and more appealing place for all to enjoy. We remain committed to building on this progress and helping our community continue to thrive.
‘A sticky issue’
Allison Ogden-Newton OBE, chief executive of Keep Britain Tidy, said: “Thankfully, the majority of people who chew gum dispose of it responsibly. But for those who don’t, cleaning gum and the resulting staining it causes off our pavements costs councils millions of pounds every year.
“We know this issue won’t be solved overnight, even in areas where the gum has been cleaned up, but we’re confident that with innovation, research and small behaviour changes provided through the Chewing Gum Task Force, together we can tackle this sticky issue.
Established by Defra and supported by popular gum manufacturers, including Mars Wrigley and Perfetti Van Melle, the latter have invested a total of up to £10 million over five years.
Monitoring and evaluation carried out by Behaviour Change has shown that in areas that benefitted from the first year of funding, a reduced rate of gum littering was still being observed six months after clean-up and the installation of prevention materials.
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.
By combining targeted street cleaning with specially designed signage to encourage people to bin their gum, participating councils last year are said to have achieved reductions in gum littering of up to 60% in the first two months.
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