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Home > Policy and research > Issues > Chewing gum

Chewing gum

The need to get rid of chewing gum immediately after use means that it is an item which is commonly disposed of irresponsibly with previous research showing that three quarters of all streets in Wales were affected by chewing gum staining.

Chewing gum litter wastes millions of taxpayer money every year, with an estimated annual clean-up cost of £7 million across the UK. The recent Chewing Gum Task Force has provided funding to help clean up chewing gum and invest in longer-term behaviour change to prevent the issue.

Chewing gum staining on a pavement next to a bin

Chewing gum and the law

By law, chewing gum is defined as litter, but local authorities are not legally obliged to clean chewing gum staining. This means that many instances of chewing gum staining stay around for a long time as the synthetic product can take up to five years to break down.