THE Mayor of South Dublin County Council, Cllr Sarah Holland, has urged Southsiders to tackle the sticky issue of gum litter.
The mayor was speaking at the launch of the 2016 Gum Litter Taskforce (GLT) gum litter education campaign in Templeogue last week.
Since the campaign was first launched in 2007, the National Litter Pollution Monitoring System results show an overall decrease in people dropping gum from 26 to 11 per cent.
The results of the attitudinal research carried out by Millward Brown on behalf of the GLT during the 2015 campaign saw the highest numbers to date reporting that they never drop gum.
Speaking at the launch, Mayor Holland said: “It is wonderful to see everyone in the community coming together to get behind this campaign, both here in South Dublin and in so many towns around the country.
“The GLT campaign brings together the community and local authorities with a common goal – to fight gum litter.”
Paul Kelly, chairman of the GLT, added: “The main goal of this campaign has always been to reduce the amount of gum litter and change people’s behaviour towards littering.
“The results of the National Litter Pollution Monitoring System are demonstrable proof of the success of the campaign to date.
“We’re hoping to build on this success again this year and see even better results. The national launch today will set off an extensive advertising campaign which is being rolled out nationwide and includes the various strands of the campaign such as the hugely popular Bin It!”
Alex West, the senior manager of Corporate Affairs for the Wrigley Company, said: “The Wrigley Company is delighted to be the industry representative on the GLT.
“The Gum Litter Taskforce is a unique industry funded initiative that runs in partnership with local and national government and civic society to tackle a common goal through awareness and education. The campaign results to date have demonstrated the success it has had in changing behaviour and attitudes to gum littering.”
Each of the local authorities will launch their own campaigns in the coming weeks. The 26 participating authorities include Dublin City, Dun Laoghaire Rathdown and South Dublin County Council.