UK inventor gives new life to chewed gum

The LGA wants gum manufacturers to pay more towards clean-up costs. The largest of those by far in Britain is the Wrigley Company. Its website says more than 28 million people in Britain ‘regularly chew gum’ and, on average, each of them goes through 125 pieces a year.

28m people in Britain chew gum. Cost of clearing the streets? $79m.

Wrigley’s said it takes the issue of gum litter very seriously, and is the largest funder of antilittering campaigns in Britain, supporting several programmes over the last decade.

Last year, it gave £600,000 (Dh3.12 million) — about 1 per cent of what it costs councils to clear up gum litter — to the Chewing Gum Action Group, which works on the problem with local councils.

‘We strongly believe that changing individual behaviour around litter is the only long-term solution to keep our streets clean,’ a company spokeswoman said. Britain’s Department for the Environment, which is also a member of the Chewing Gum Action Group, agrees that industry-led campaigns can change behaviour. ‘But we are not ruling out the possibility of further regulation if that is what is required to achieve real change,’ a spokesman said in a statement.

In the meantime, Gumdrop is pressing on with its mission, with Bullus considering her next chewing gum product.

The latest idea?

With the summer festival season approaching, what could be more apt than something to tackle Britain’s notoriously unpredictable weather: wellington boots, also known as — you guessed it — gumboots.