Thousands of pieces of chewing gum have been removed from Union Street thanks to a grant administered by environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy.
The £27,500 grant, from the Chewing Gum Task Force, contributed towards additional cleaning and signage aimed at preventing people from littering again - estimates suggest the annual clean-up cost of chewing gum for councils in the UK is about £7million.
Aberdeen City Council Co-Leader Councillor Ian Yuill said: “The Council’s cleansing team work hard keeping Union Street free of litter. This extra clean will complement the chewing gum removal which is carried out on a regular basis.
“We’d ask people as always not to drop litter, including chewing gum, as it is unsightly and its removal takes time and money.”
Aberdeen City Council Net Zero, Environment and Transport vice convener Councillor Miranda Radley said: “We know businesses in the area appreciate a nice, clean Union Street as it helps to attract people to the city centre.
“The additional chewing gum removal is a welcome boost for the area.”
Aberdeen City Council was one of 54 across the country which successfully applied to the Chewing Gum Task Force, now in its third year and funded by major gum manufacturers including Mars Wrigley and Perfetti Van Melle with an investment of up to £10 million spread over five years.
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 (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) and run by environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy, the Chewing Gum 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.