In an attempt to provide a cleaner place to live, North Yorkshire have received £27,500 in funding from the Government to clean gum off pavements.

The Government’s national Chewing Gum Task Force has funded this project to tackle hotspot areas in Northallerton, Scarborough and Selby in a bid to help support the council’s aim of a clean place to live.

Executive member for managing our environment, Cllr Richard Foster, said: “It will always be better if people put their gum in a bin, but unfortunately it is a persistent and unsightly problem that affects the look and feel of our communities. 

“This funding allows us to take targeted action in more places and, thanks to the funding, we have acquired specialist equipment to remove gum from our streets. 

“We’re committed to creating cleaner, more welcoming town centres for residents and visitors alike, and this initiative is a great step forward.” 

Last year, the council bid for an initial £27,500, which is the maximum that can be awarded. This has been used to target areas of Malton and Scarborough.

A further bid will be made next year with the aim of focusing in the areas of Harrogate and Skipton.

North Yorkshire Council are one of 52 local authorities across the country to have successfully applied for the funding.

The Chewing Gum task Force grant scheme was established by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and is run by environmental charity, Keep Britain Tidy. 

The chief executive of Keep Britain Tidy, Allison Ogden-Newton OBE, said: “Chewing gum continues to be an unsightly form of litter in our public spaces – though thankfully the scheme is leading to significant reductions. 

“People need to remember that disposing irresponsibly of their gum causes harm to our environment as it takes years to decompose naturally – and, ultimately, costs the public purse to clean it up.” 

Estimates suggest that the annual clean-up cost of chewing gum for councils in the UK is around £7 million.

According to Keep Britain Tidy, about 77% of England’s streets and 99% of retail sites are stained with gum.

Over the past three years, the Chewing Gum task force has awarded more than £4.88 million in grants, cleaned over 3.4 million square meters of pavements, and reduced gum littering by up to 80%.

The funding is open to councils across the UK who wish to apply and want to invest in long-term behaviour change to prevent gum from being dropped in the first place.