An Cathaoirleach Launches 2021 National Gum Litter Taskforce Campaign

An Cathaoirleach, Councillor Una Power, celebrates the launch of the National Gum Litter Taskforce Campaign in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council with St Brigid’s National School Stillorgan.

The Gum Litter Taskforce (GLT) is an environmental initiative that was set up to develop and implement an awareness campaign to reduce gum litter. Supported and funded by the chewing gum industry, the GLT initiative has made very real and significant improvements in relation to gum litter awareness and disposal behaviour over the last 14 years since its inception in 2007. The campaign is looking to build on the positive momentum of previous years’ campaigns and is making a strong return for 2021. Research commissioned by the Gum Litter Taskforce and conducted by Kantar Millward Brown during the 2019 campaign highlighted the campaign’s continued positive effect on people’s behaviour towards gum disposal. In 2019, the results showed that 88% of people said that they always dispose of their gum correctly, which was up from 54% when the campaign first began. This shift in public behaviour has been evident throughout the 13 years that the campaign has been running, as the proportion of gum as a percentage of litter has decreased by 64%.

Speaking at the launch of the 2021 campaign, An Cathaoirleach, Una Power said:

I am delighted to launch the 2021 Gum Litter Taskforce Campaign in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown. The campaign compliments the Council’s 2021 anti-litter environmental awareness programmes that include the annual Tidy Districts community programme, an anti-litter competition for primary schools, Picker Pals programme, educational workshops, Green-Schools and the Recycled Christmas Decoration initiative. These environmental initiatives empower local authorities, communities, and schools to work together to achieve meaningful change in our environment to the benefit of current and future generations.