02/03/2018Chewing Gum Tax – why we’re campaigning to hold producers to account

We’ve partnered with the Local Government Association (LGA) to table a cross party motion in Parliament, along with a petition asking government to hold gum producers accountable for the huge costs of cleaning chewing gum off streets across our country.

Our local councils currently stump up a total of £60 million a year removing an estimated two million pieces of gum from pavements – money which is desperately needed elsewhere. We’d much rather see it spent on pressing issues such as social care and housing, homelessness and other vital, underfunded community services.

Chewing Gum never biodegrades. It’s hard to find out exactly what’s in most gum bases as the recipes tend to be closely guarded secrets, though most sources mention polymers, the same type of material used to make plastics and rubbers. This goes some way to explaining why this grim, sticky source of pollution needs specialist equipment, and costs a fortune, to remove.

Read the full Daily Telegraph article here.

To sign the petition click here.

*We’re interested to learn more about how synthetic gum bases are made – could they be classed as a single-use plastic? If you can help us understand more please get in touch via the Contact Us form. Thank you!