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Southport BID launches
campaign to change behaviour towards chewing gum disposal
IN partnership with:- 'Chewing Gum
Action Group', representatives from Southport BID highlight pieces of
discarded gum, using fluorescent chalk, on the pavements of Corporation
Street, to support a national campaign to reduce gum litter.
Now in its 10th
year, the annual campaign sees representatives from the chewing gum
industry, Government and environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy working
with councils and Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) across the whole of
the UK to develop local initiatives to reduce chewing gum litter.
Corporation Street, which links the 2 busiest shopping streets together (Chapel Street and Lord Street) has been
transformed like never before, as part of a campaign launched by Southport
BID to reduce gum litter in the town centre.
Partnering with Sefton Council and The Chewing Gum Action Group (CGAG), an
organisation chaired by Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural
Affairs) and funded by the chewing gum industry to tackle gum litter in the
UK, the grey pavements on Corporation Street were transformed with
brightly coloured circles to highlight the significant amount of gum that is
dropped.
The Southport BID Team took to Corporation Street to circle every single
piece of discarded gum at the junction with Chapel Street using water
soluble fluorescent chalk, and witnessed the public reaction to the
eye catching measle like patterns created across 1 of the busiest areas in
Southport. The gum will then be removed by specialist gum removal company, Primoserve making the streets cleaner and more attractive.
Enda Rylands, Southport BID chair, said:- "We want the people of
Southport to feel immensely proud of where they live which is why we have
partnered with the Chewing Gum Action Group this year to raise awareness and
proactively tackle the issue of gum litter.
Year on year, chewing gum litter is costly and difficult to remove,
therefore we hope that this campaign will encourage gum chewers to bin their
gum the right way and understand that they can play a part in making
Southport a more attractive place for all our visitors."
Supporting the campaign this year, Cllr Paulette Lappin, Cabinet Member
Regulatory, Compliance and Corporate Services, said:- "Dropping
chewing gum on the street is simply anti social behaviour and needs to stop.
We are delighted to support this project with the Southport BID to help
clean the streets of Southport of chewing gum. Enforcement officers will be
out during the campaign and people need to know that by dropping something
as small as a piece of gum on the floor could see a fixed penalty notice of
£75 being issued. Please don't do it and instead take your litter home or
use one of the many bins provided."
Now in its 10th year, the annual campaign sees representatives from the
chewing gum industry, Government and environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy,
working with Councils and Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) across the
whole of the UK, to develop local initiatives to reduce chewing gum litter.
As part of the campaign, Southport BID will also deep clean 10,000 square
metres of paving.
CGAG campaign co-ordinator Kristian Bentham added:- "Every year for
the past 10 years, the Chewing Gum Action Group campaign has delivered some
positive results. Through our creative campaign this year, we wanted to
highlight that dropping gum is still littering and one that greatly affects
the local area.
We have no doubt this year's visual campaign will raise further awareness
and have a lasting impact on residents and shoppers. We are delighted to be
working with Southport BID this year to help them create a cleaner place to
live and work."
In total 9 BIDs and local authorities from across the UK are taking part in
the 2015 campaign.
For more information, please click on
here.
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