The Gum Litter Taskforce (GLT) has announced that Donegal County Council will be among 21 local authority areas to participate in the second phase of activity in its national Gum Litter Action Campaign. The major public awareness campaign is part of a nationwide push to change attitudes to gum litter and raise awareness of the gum litter problem by encouraging people to dispose of their gum responsibly in the bin.
This announcement follows the review and assessment of the highly successful pilot campaign in 2006 and first phase of the national campaign which ended in November 2007. Each of these campaigns successfully raised awareness of the gum litter issue and promoted the more responsible disposal of gum.
The national campaign, which commenced on the 16th June, represents the centrepiece of the programme of activity of the GLT which was established in 2006 as a joint initiative between the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and the gum industry as represented by Food & Drink Industry Ireland (FDII) a business sector of IBEC.
Councillor Gerry Crawford, Mayor of the County of Donegal today launched the campaign in Donegal. The launch took place outside An Grianan Theatre in Letterkenny. Mayor Crawford welcomed the campaign and stated that “education and awareness were key to preventing litter and chewing gum in particular is a major issue on the streets of many towns and villages throughout Donegal. It takes thousands of Euro to clean a small area of chewing off our streets so prevention is the key.”
Staff from Donegal County Council, Letterkenny Town Council and volunteers from The Radisson Hotel spent a number of hours promoting the campaign throughout the town. The Radisson Hotel volunteered as part of their Responsible Business programme in which they carry out some environmental work in the Community each year.
It is hoped that a high profile launch will help to get the message across to the public both young and old throughout Donegal, that litter of any sort cannot be tolerated. This launch is accompanied by the latest set of radio advertisements and billboard poster campaigns throughout Donegal.
This second phase of the national campaign will include multi format outdoor advertising, in-store and around store advertising, point of sale materials and the promotion of greater awareness of litter fines for the irresponsible disposal of chewing gum in Donegal.
There will also be a national and regional radio advertising campaign that will reach people throughout the country to reinforce the responsible gum disposal messages. An education road show has already visited schools around the country as part of an ongoing schools programme run by the Gum Litter Taskforce to educate young people to dispose of their used gum responsibly.
Commenting on the announcement Paul Kelly, Chairman of the GLT said, “We were delighted with the success of last year’s campaign and this year we want to build upon that success. The number of local authorities taking part this year is proof of the growing momentum of this campaign”.
The GLT will now commence work with Donegal County Council to develop a specific programme of action for the area. “Each town and area has its own unique characteristics and Donegal County Council will be provided with materials and advertising to support the specific needs of the local authority area” Mr Kelly added. “I look forward to the second phase of the nationwide campaign making a lasting and positive difference to our streets and environment generally”.
The 21 local authority areas participating in the second phase are the City Councils of Cork, Dublin, Galway, Limerick and Waterford, the County Councils of Cavan, Fingal, North Tipperary, South Dublin, South Tipperary, Westmeath, Dun Laoghaire Rathdown, Monaghan, Longford, Leitrim, Wexford, Laois, Kildare, Kilkenny and Donegal and the Town Council of Westport.
Further information:
Paul Kelly, Chairman Arnold Dillon
Gum Litter Taskforce IBEC Press Office
Tel: 01 605 1621 Tel: 01 6051638
Mobile: 087 202 5545 Mobile: 087 923 8188
Suzanne Tinney,
Waste Awareness Officer,
Donegal County Council,
(074) 91 76276
Suzanne.tinney@donegalcoco.ie
About the Gum Litter Taskforce
The Gum Litter Taskforce (GLT) was established following a negotiated agreement between the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and the chewing gum industry.
The joint initiative is the result of negotiations between the Department and Food and Drink Industry Ireland – a business sector of IBEC - on behalf of the chewing gum industry. This follows the publication of the Government Study on Chewing Gum, Fast-Food packaging and ATM receipt litter.
The GLT is charged with developing and implementing an Action Programme to tackle gum litter in the most sustainable way – by changing behaviour, the root cause of the issue.
Members of the GLT include representatives of the chewing gum industry, Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Food and Drink Industry Ireland, Department of Education and Science, ENFO, ECO UNESCO, Foroige, local authority representatives and Retail Ireland.