Gum targets

'Stick your gum here' poster sites for residents to stick their used gum on.

Luton became one of very few local authorities that
attempted to tackle the nuisance of chewing gum head on with a targeted approach to the problem utilising “gum targets”. These are custom made hard backed poster sites for residents to stick their used gum on.

The town centre is furnished with 85 gum targets that are adorned with anti littering messages, fun voting questions such as “football, love it or hate it” and more general educational messages on the problems gum causes.

The top sheet filled with used gum is removed each evening. In the two years the targets have been in place there has been a marked decrease in the amount of gum seen on the street, substantially cutting the need for expensive jet cleaning of surfaces. The initiative has received some excellent media attention from BBC Radio 4 and is fully supported by the local media.

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