29/07/2025

Archived item. This item is published here for historical reasons. The information below may be out of date.

Launching its sixth cycle, the Gum Litter Taskforce reports that:

Clondalkin, 28 July – The Gum Litter Taskforce (GLT) took to the streets of Clondalkin, to promote positive gum litter disposal. As part of its Summer Roadshow campaign, the GLT collaborated with South Dublin County Council to promote the importance of proper litter disposal through fun education and awareness initiatives that highlight the negative environmental impacts of gum litter and draw awareness to the €150 gum litter fine. South Dublin Deputy Mayor Counsellor Trevor Gilligan launched the event with Clondalkin Tidy Towns and staff from the SDCC Climate Action Department.

Welcoming the campaign back to South Dublin, Deputy Mayor Counsellor Trevor Gilligan said:

“We are delighted to welcome the Gum Litter Taskforce to South Dublin. It’s a great initiative that generates awareness of the negative impacts of gum litter in a fun and engaging way. As a Council, we are committed to working with campaigns such as GLT, that promote responsible litter disposal behaviours, and result in cleaner communities.”

GLT has seen gum litter reduce by almost 70% since 2007, via a sustained public engagement and education campaign. According to the latest National Litter Pollution Monitoring System data, gum now accounts for just 8.6% of all litter, continuing a downward trend in gum as a component of litter from 26.4% in 2006, and 9.1% in 2021, the end of the previous three-year cycle.

· 92% of people now report properly disposing of their chewing gum, a record high.

· 85% of 16–34-year-olds now view littering as socially unacceptable..

However, according to the latest research 1 in 12 admit that they still drop their gum on the ground.

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