BURNHAM and Highbridge residents are being urged by the council to bin their chewing gum rather than drop it on the pavement.
Sedgemoor District Council spends approximately £16,000 a year on pavement washing, which includes getting rid of discarded chewing gum.
Cllr Richard Burden, portfolio holder for the Environment, said: “Chewing gum is a plague on our pavements. “It is a blight which costs councils a fortune to clean up and takes hours of hard work to remove.
“It’s ugly, it’s unsightly and it’s unacceptable.”
On a national level, chewing gum manufacturers have been asked to help councils cover the multimillion pound cost of cleaning gum from England’s streets.
The Local Government Association (LGA) wants manufacturers to contribute towards the costs of ensuing proper disposal.
It is thought that while an average piece of gum costs around 3p to buy, clean up expenses stand at around 50 times that figure.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article