Gum louts busted
In July the Council launched a campaign to get stuck into the problem of
discarded chewing gum. Very few people would dispute the fact that spitting
chewing gum onto the streets is a disgusting habit; it’s a nuisance for
people, who have to watch where they walk. It is expensive and time consuming
for councils to clean up.
The Council’s campaign aims to get people to think twice about where they
dispose of their gum. It highlights the need for manufacturers to take a much
more imaginative approach to developing an environmentally-friendly
biodegradable gum. It also highlights the fines ‘envirocriminals’
are in line for as a result of new powers adopted earlier in the year.
Campaign launch
The Council’s gum busting campaign launch in July kick-started the London
leg of a wider national campaign. It involved 25 local school children
attempting to scrape – by hand – just some of the thousands of
pieces of dropped gum from Kensington High Street to show how difficult it is
to combat this unsightly problem. Two recently purchased specialised gum
busting machines were used to further demonstrate how hard the removal process
is.
The campaign includes local advertising and specially designed wrappers,
featuring the slogan ‘Don’t be dumb, wrap your gum’. These
are available in 12 retail outlets on Kensington High Street so people can
store chewed gum until a bin can be found.
The campaign to stop people dropping, spitting and sticking gum where they
shouldn’t is just one example of the Council’s attempt to raise
awareness of fines, ranging from £75 upwards. Graffiti taggers,
fly-posters and other litter louts are also being targetted for new, heftier
fines.
New powers
Until recently, the Council had to deal with most of these offences through a
court summons which was a long and costly process. The introduction of new
extended ‘fixed penalty notices’ (FPNs) will lead to more a
efficient system.
Already the Council has an excellent record for collecting £50 fixed
penalty notices for littering. From March 2004 to April 2005, Kensington and
Chelsea Council enforcement officers issued 345 fixed penalty notices for
littering of which 338 were paid – a 98 per cent collection rate. When
the fixed penalty notice is issued, the person is asked if they are willing to
pay the fine which helps to avoid any future disputes. Under this new
legislation, the FPN for littering will increase to £75, along with
fly-posting and graffiti.
Fixed penalty notices are not issued lightly. The Council’s overarching
‘Love the streets you live in’ campaign, of which the gum campaign
is one element, is all about educating people not to commit these offences in
the first place.
Email your comments on this story to rbkcdirect@rbkc.gov.uk.
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