Stick it on a Ticket then Bin it

Published by webmaster for Chesterfield Borough Council in Communities

That's the ticket - bus users in Chesterfield have been given an innovative solution to the sticky problem of gum litter.

        As part of Chesterfield Borough Council’s ongoing campaign against chewing gum litter, commuters have been encouraged to keep hold of their used bus tickets and use them to wrap their gum when they’re done.

‘Stick it on a ticket then bin it’ is the message, that has been printed onto Stagecoach bus tickets.
        Richard Kay, operations director for Stagecoach, said: “People usually just throw their used bus tickets away so we thought it would be a great idea to offer people a use for them which will hopefully make a big difference to the state of our streets.”   

        Cllr Keith Morgan, the Borough's Lead Member for Environmental Services, said: “We are really trying to drive home the message that gum is litter. Although it may seem small, it is extremely difficult to clean up.

        “Something as simple as using your bus ticket to wrap your gum and store it more conveniently until you find a bin can make a real difference to our streets.

        “Anybody caught dropping gum will face a £50 on the spot fine. No stick of gum is worth that much, so my advice would be to 'Stick it on a ticket then bin it'."

The initiative is one of many being pursued in Chesterfield Borough Council’s fight against the gum menace on our streets.

Last week, gum chewers in the town centre were given handy wrap-it papers during a Borough Council roadshow.
People were encouraged to enter ‘The Great Gum Gamble’ to win prizes and also took part in a gum guessing challenge where they were asked to guess how many pieces of gum were removed from a 100 square metre area of the town centre in a gum clean-up a couple of weeks ago - there were 2,042!

Posters to raise awareness of the problem have also gone up around the Borough.