Cleanzine: your weekly cleaning and hygiene industry newsletter 12th February 2026 Issue no. 1197

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Significant funding proven to dramatically reduce blight of gum littering is up for grabs

On Monday, the Chewing Gum Task Force, administered by environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy, announced the start of its fifth year of grants of up to £27,500 to allow councils to purchase specialist chewing gum cleaning equipment and/or increase street cleansing.

In 2025, 52 councils across the country benefited from a special grant fund to tackle chewing gum litter, helping clean an area equivalent to the size of more than 2,406 tennis courts.

The grants are supplemented by fully-funded gum litter prevention packages for each council, including targeted behaviour change signage and advice, designed and produced by social enterprise Behaviour Change.

The scheme's fourth annual report, released this week, shows that the 52 councils benefitted from grants worth a total of £1.583m in 2025, which helped to clean an estimated 629,750sq.m of pavements.

Of those, six councils had benefited from funding for the full four years, and 19 councils had benefited for the first time.

Most councils (56%) used their grant to purchase new cleaning equipment, ensuring that they will continue to benefit after the project ends. In addition to the grants for cleansing, 25% of the fund was used to supply gum litter prevention packages to councils.

By combining targeted street cleansing with specially designed signage to encourage people to bin their gum, participating councils have seen reductions in gum littering of up to 86% in the first two months, with a reduced rate of gum littering still being observed after six months.

"Once again, interest in this funding has been immense and is testament to the success of the programme,” reveals Allison Ogden-Newton OBE, chief executive of Keep Britain Tidy. “We are proud to have awarded grants worth almost £1.6 million to councils last year, helping them clean 629,750sq.m of pavements.

"This investment is making a real difference, with reductions in gum littering of as much as 86%. Residents and businesses also feel the benefit and the programme generates an impressive estimated return on investment.

"My sincere thanks go to the Chewing Gum Task Force funders, Mars Snacking and Perfetti Van Melle, for their vital support."

Set up by Defra - in partnership with the Department of Agriculture, Environment & Rural Affairs in Northern Ireland, Scottish Government and Welsh Government - the Chewing Gum Task Force brings together major chewing gum producers, including Mars Snacking and Perfetti Van Melle. Under the scheme, administered by Keep Britain Tidy, the firms are investing up to £10m over five years to help reduce chewing gum litter.

Naomi Jones, corporate affairs director at Mars Snacking, says of the initiative:

"Mars Snacking is proud to continue supporting the work of the Chewing Gum Task Force. We know that the only effective and sustainable way of tackling gum litter is by working to change consumer behaviour. Over 72% of locations have seen sustained reductions in chewing gum litter following street cleaning and the roll-out of prevention packages. We also include logos on-pack, encouraging responsible disposal."

The fund is currently open to councils in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales that wish to clean the gum off their pavements and invest in long-term behaviour change to stop gum being dropped. Grants of up to £27,500 are available, and, in some cases, an additional £2,500 may be awarded at the Task Force's discretion to proposals that meet specific criteria outlined in the application form.

Applications will close at noon on 13th March, 2026, and decisions will be announced by the end of May 2026.

Find out more, download annual reports and apply via:

https://www.keepbritaintidy.org/chewing-gum-task-force

22nd January 2026