A grant from the Chewing Gum Task Force, administered by Keep Britain Tidy, will support Surrey Heath Borough Council (SHBC) in cleaning up discarded chewing gum and reduce gum littering.

The scheme will run in partnership with SHBC’s waste collection, recycling and street cleaning contractor, Joint Waste Solutions (JWS).

Cllr Morgan Rise said: “It’s important to keep our streets clean so that residents and local businesses can take pride in their local area and enjoy their surroundings.  

“The signage that will be displayed after the street cleansing will help to prevent future littering and keep our streets looking their best.” 

JWS is one of 54 organisations across the country that have successfully applied to the Chewing Gum Task Force, for funds to clean gum off pavements and prevent it from being littered again. 

Established by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and run by charity Keep Britain Tidy. The task force grant scheme is open to councils across the UK who wish to clean up gum in their local areas and invest in long-term behaviour change to prevent gum from being dropped in the first place.  

Estimates suggest the annual clean-up cost of chewing gum for councils in the UK is around £7 million. In its second year, the task force awarded 55 councils a total of £1.56 million, helping clean an estimated 440,000 square metres of pavement. 

Participating councils achieved reductions in gum littering of up to 60 per cent in the first two months.