BOURNEMOUTH Council has signed up to a new campaign to tackle the issue of chewing gum on the streets.

But, shoppers and traders in the town centre are wondering what else can be done to stop it from blighting the area.

Chewing Gum Action Group’s 2012 campaign sees 16 local authorities across the UK working with all sectors in their community to encourage people to take responsibility for their own litter and put it in the bin.

The trouble, says Bournemouth Town Centre councillor Mike Greene, is that cleaning it off the streets is easier said than done.

He said: “People don’t realise that if you spit gum, that mark remains there unless something is done.

“It’s very serious because cleaning gum is difficult, you can’t get it perfect.

“It goes further, because when a place looks great, then people have respect for it. If the streets look dirty, then people treat them with less respect. Gum cleaning machines are very expensive.”

The word on the street

Most believe littered gum is an issue, and there were lots of views on how best to tackle the problem and whether the council move would work....

• Madeline Blee, shop assistant at Enigma, said: “We get used to it. I don’t see why people can’t put it in the bin.”

• Ernie Rogers, 64, web entrepreneur of Westbourne, said: “It should be expensive and celebrities should set an example.”

• Yuksel Hacipasaóglu, owner of The Chippy, said: “People need to be educated about it by their parents and then at school.”

• Andrew Ball, 59, from Horton, said: “It’s just not economical to pay someone to hand out fines all the time.”

• Val Aldridge, 65, retired from Ringwood, said: “Gum should be banned like it is in Singapore.”