North Yorkshire Council

Corporate Director Environment and Assistant Director Resources

27 February 2026

Keeping Britain Tidy Chewing Gum Task Force 2026

Report of the East Area Manager, Waste and Street Scene Operations

1.0       PURPOSE OF REPORT

1.1 To seek approval for the submission of an application to Keeping Britain Tidy (KBT) for funding of £27,500 from the Corporate Director Environment in consultation with the Chief Finance Officer (sub- delegated to the) Assistant Director- Resources to purchase specialist chewing gum removal equipment to enhance the street cleaning service as we roll out chewing gum cleansing provision across the Council.

2.0       SUMMARY                                                                                        

2.1       To seek approval to apply by NYC for a grant of up to £27,500 from KBT for the purchase of specialist chewing gum removal equipment.

3.0       BACKGROUND

3.1       KBT are offering grants of up to £27,500 to Councils for the purchase of cleaning equipment to tackle chewing gum and to enhance the street cleaning service.

3.2       The areas that would be targeted are Harrogate, Ripon, and Skipton. If the Council’s application is successful, we will be working towards completing the objective to use the equipment across all areas of North Yorkshire over the next 12 months. We have been successful over the past two years in applying for the funding to cover Northallerton, Selby, Malton, and Scarborough. 

3.3       Officers have prepared an application for submission and the closing date for applications is midday on 13 March 2026.

4.0 KEEP BRITIAN TIDY 2025 CHEWING GUM TASK FORCE GRANT OFFER

4.1       KBT have launched a fund to tackle chewing gum staining with the submission of grant applications closing at midday on 13 March 2026.

4.2       The Chewing Gum Task Force brings together some of the UK’s major chewing gum producers (Mars Wrigley and Perfetti Van Melle) in a partnership to remove gum litter from UK high streets and prevent future littering.

4.3       The scheme, administered by independent charity Keep Britain Tidy, sees the chewing gum firms invest up to £10 million over five years to achieve two objectives; cleaning up historic gum staining and changing behaviour so that more people bin their gum.

4.4       Grants of up to £27,500 are available to councils in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales towards the purchase of cleaning equipment and/or street cleansing this year.

4.5       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.

4.6       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 80% in the first two months, with a reduced rate of gum littering still being observed after six months. 

4.7       Last year 55 councils across the UK benefitted from the special grant fund, helping clean an area equivalent to the size of the Vatican City, with funding totalling £1.65m.

5.0       CONTRIBUTION TO COUNCIL PRIORITIES

5.1       The scheme contributes to the Council plan Place and Environment priorities as follows:

i) A clean, environmentally sustainable, and attractive place to live, work and visit.

ii) To protect and, where possible, enhance the local environment and ensure our air, streets, beaches, and open spaces are kept clean and attractive.

iii) To reduce littering, fly-tipping, and dog-fouling.

6.0       ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS CONSIDERED

6.1       Applying for a grant towards equipment is considered an opportunity for NYC to purchase additional equipment to tackle chewing gum and enhance the street cleaning service across the area if the application is successful as there is no funding for this within existing budgets.

7.0       IMPACT ON OTHER SERVICES/ORGANISATIONS

7.1       If the grant application is successful the specialist equipment will have a positive impact on the street cleaning service and improve the areas where chewing gum is an issue.

8.0       FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

8.1       If the grant application is successful NYC will receive funding of up to £27,500 which will be used to fund the cost of specialist chewing gum removal equipment together with a fully funded gum litter prevention package, including signage. No match funding will be required by NYC.

8.2       There are no ongoing costs for the Council over and above current revenue budgets for the street cleaning service, as evidenced through the equipment purchased using previous years grant funding.

9.0 LEGAL IMPLICATIONS

9.1       There are no legal implications arising from the submission of the grant application. The grant terms are not available at the present time but will be reviewed by Legal Services when released. If any of the grant terms present unacceptable risk for the Council, then the grant offer would be declined.

10.0     EQUALITIES IMPLICATIONS

10.1     There are no significant equalities implications arising from this report (Appendix A).

11.0     CLIMATE CHANGE IMPLICATIONS

11.1     There are no significant climate change implications arising from this report (Appendix B).

12.0	RECOMMENDATION
12.1	That the Corporate Director of Environment in consultation with the Corporate Director Resources (sub- delegated to) the Assistant Director – Resources approve the submission of the grant application to KBT of £27,500 to purchase specialist chewing gum removal equipment to enhance the street cleaning service as the Council do not currently cleanse gum litter.

APPENDICES

Appendix A – Equalities Impact Screening form

Appendix B - Climate Change Impact Screening form

Brian Blackwell

Area Manager Waste and Street Scene

County Hall

Northallerton

11 March 2026

Report Author –          Megan Davies - Graduate Trainee Waste

Presenter of Report – Brian Blackwell - Area Manager Waste and Street Scene