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UK government forms multi-million-dollar task force to remove gum blighting England sidewalks
The Xinhua reported, a British government department announced Monday a multi-million-dollar task force, backed by major chewing gum producers, is to carry out a massive clean-up operation to remove chewing gum blighting 87 percent of sidewalks in England.
According to the Xinhua, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said, the task force is part of the British government's new strategy to support the evolution and regeneration of high streets across the country.
Defra said, gum producers, including Mars Wrigley, GlaxoSmithKline and Perfetti Van Melle, have signed up to the scheme and will invest up to 10 million pounds (about 13.8 million U.S. dollars) over the next five years to significantly reduce gum litter from streets.
The Xinhua said, citing Defra that around 87 percent of England's streets are stained with gum.
It noted that the annual clean-up cost is estimated at 7 million pounds (about 9.66 million dollars).
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It said, the investment, starting later this year, will be used to clean up historic gum litter staining and use behavioral interventions to encourage people to bin their gum.
A according to Defra, previous pilots have reduced gum littering by up to 64 percent.
Source: xinhua
