Havering Council and Crowlands Primary School joined forces recently to share this message: Stick your chewing gum in the bin, not on our pavements!
Youngsters from the Romford school joined Council Leader, Councillor Ray Morgon, plus staff from FCC - the Council’s waste and street cleansing partner - plus other Council staff, in South Street, Romford.
The pupils used chalk to mark out all the chewing gum that has been dropped and ground into the pavements.
This was in preparation for the street cleansing teams to use special equipment to get rid of the gum.
The pupils got a chance to have a go at cleaning some of the gum up with the teams.
They also took part in a special workshop at their school, hosted by ELWA (East London Waste Authority), the Council’s waste disposal partners.
There they learned about the impact that dropping chewing gum and other litter has on the environment and the community they live and go to school in.
The Council was awarded £26,756 towards cleaning up the scourge of chewing gum on the borough’s streets.
This is from the Chewing Gum Taskforce, which is run by environmental charity, Keep Britain Tidy.
Last Monday in South Street, Romford, the teams from FCC began their work in and around Romford train station and bus station.
The areas are a major hotspot for people dropping gum on to the pavement instead of placing it in a bin.
Armed with special portable battery-operated backpack equipment, they blitzed the pavements using a combination of steam and eco-friendly detergents.
This quickly removes the gum.
Councillor Ray Morgon, Leader of Havering Council, said:
“We would like to thank pupils from Crowlands Primary School for joining us to get the message out there.
"That we won’t tolerate people dropping chewing gum and litter on our streets.
“It is great to have this funding to help us clean up chewing gum that is blighting our pavements.
“It will help us to keep our streets cleaner but we will also be asking residents and visitors to our borough to play their part.
"We're asking them to not drop their chewing gum or any litter on the floor in the first place.
“It is a horrible sight to see the gum which sticks to your shoes and ruins our pavements, roads and parks.
“As part of our Where We Live campaign, our teams are working hard to keep our borough clean alongside all the wonderful volunteers who help us pick up litter and take pride.
“Sadly, there are still people who think it is okay to drop chewing gum on the floor or not put their rubbish in the bin or fly tip. It is not.”
After each deep clean, signage will be put up to remind people not to drop their gum.
The deep clean will be rolled out across other parts of the borough over the next couple of months.
Adissa Ouedraogo, FCC Environments’ Senior Contract Manager said:
“We’ve been working with Havering Council since October 2023 delivering the waste collections and street cleansing services.
“We’re delighted to have the opportunity through this Keep Britain Tidy funded project to get a fully trained team in place to clean up the discarded gum that litters our streets.
“We’re pleased to be supporting the Council in keeping the borough cleaner and as part of its flagship campaign, Where We Live.”