Gumdrop bins lead the way

Thanks to five students from Bewdley School in Wyre Forest, the District Council has installed Gumdrop bins across the area. The students pitched the idea to the Council after their school introduced the bins and saw a positive change in litter behaviour.

It’s an idea that is spreading with Colchester Borough Council revealing it is investing £10,000, over a two year period, in Gumdrop bins to make it easier for Colchester residents to recycle chewing gum. 34 bright pink Gumdrop bins will be sited across the town. In addition, the Council has invested in accompanying keyrings. Locals can pick up a free ‘Gumdrop on the go’ keyring so users can deposit gum in their keyring and, when full, return it to a keyring collection point to be replaced by a new one.

Full bins and keyrings are collected by Gumdrop Ltd to be recycled into new bin inserts and other recycled items. The project is part of the Better Colchester campaign, a £2million programme of improvements to decrease the volumes of litter, with the slogan ‘Gum Litter Blows – So Bin It’.

Reducing gum litter is part of a £2million Better Colchester campaign, part of which is to persuade local retail businesses in the town centre to keep the front areas of their shops clean and tidy. This part of the campaign, called Neat Street, hopes that shops will participate.

Street wardens and Business Improvement District street ambassadors will be visiting retailers to persuade them to take part. A number of businesses have already signed up.

The overall Colchester campaign is aimed at persuading citizens and visitors to take a proactive approach to keeping its streets clean.