North and East Herts Councils have been awarded £60,000 to tackle the scourge of chewing gum litter in town centres.

The money comes in the form of a grant from the Chewing Gum Task Force, established by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. It is run by an environment charity, Keep Britain Tidy.

The funding will enable the council to carry out more deep cleaning to remove chewing gum from pavements in our town centres, and to install new signage to encourage long-term behaviour change.

Every year, an estimated £7 million is spent across the UK cleaning up chewing gum litter.

North Herts town centres including Hitchin, Letchworth, Baldock and Royston will benefit from the funding.

Cllr Amy Allen, North Herts Council’s executive member for waste and recycling, said: “We’re delighted to have received this funding from The Chewing Gum task force, which will help us tackle the ongoing problem of chewing gum staining and help reinvigorate our town centres and public spaces.”

Cllr Tom Tyson, North Herts Council’s deputy executive member for waste and recycling, said: “Cleansing will begin in November and will take around two months to fully complete the areas identified in both districts. We hope that everyone will enjoy our newly cleaned streets and smart new signage.”