Case Study - Dudley

Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council

Gummy Bin re-educates the spitters and chuckers

Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council was the first local authority to adopt the Gummy Bin – a cartridge disposal system for chewing gum that enables it to be recycled. Even if the cartridge contains up to 40 per cent of waste other than used chewing gum, it can still be recycled.

It is estimated that 80–90 per cent of chewing gum is not disposed of in any litter receptacle and, until the introduction of Gummy Bins, none was collected for recycling. Dudley council staff spent four months planning the launch of their Gummy Bin trial and aimed the campaign at 13–34 year olds, and particularly the 2,000 students in Stourbridge schools and colleges.

The launch in June was followed by a count in September 2006 and another in January 2007. Before the campaign, 2,253 pieces of gum were found in the nine test areas. The council’s cleaning department removed the gum, first with dry ice which was too noisy, and later on with high pressure steam cleaning methods. After the bins were installed, just 86 new pieces were found.

The gum had accumulated over a five-year period, that being the time from when the paving slabs were relayed.

Recycling the gum

David Wesson, Team Manager, and his team found it better to place the Gummy Bins close to existing bins to avoid people putting other waste into the cartridges.

"It doesn’t matter if people stick paper or plastic into the bins as that material can be recycled, too, as long as 60 per cent or more of the cartridge waste consists of discarded chewing gum. The top of the bin is ergonomically designed so that gum can be dropped easily into the cartridge below. The cartridge itself can be removed without touching its contents" - David

The street cleansing team also found that the bin fixings needed to be improved to reduce novelty vandalism. Vandalism and damage was quite severe at the beginning – up to 30 units were broken at the back of the bin. So the team worked with the manufacturer to strengthen them with a galvanised steel plate.

Where containers were fixed to walls no damage or vandalism has been sustained. It is worth noting that the manufacturer replaced all damaged and vandalised bins free of charge. Since the upgrades there has been no measurable damage as the containers have been developed into quite a robust product.

Underlay for running tracks

The cartridges containing the waste gum are frozen so that the gum can be removed easily and the cartridges can be reused. The chewing gum is then mixed with an additive and hardened, chopped into small pieces and mixed with aggregate. The process is currently being tested by the University of Plymouth for efficiency and use on a large scale.

Recycling will begin in volume when sufficient levels of waste gum have been collected. Gummy Bins will then make the recycled gum aggregate available for uses including drainage systems for football pitches, underlay for running tracks and as construction material.

Research undertaken among 5 year olds in Cheshire showed that most of them don’t think of chewing gum as litter. So encouraging people to dispose of used gum properly can be a challenge, and needs to start at an early age. Gummy Bins appeal to children and, by educating them to use the bins, the council hopes to cut the amount of littering – and the associated costs.

65 town centre bins

Stourbridge now has 40 bins in the town centre and 25 bins in a nearby college. In 2007, a further 50 Gummy Bins will be installed in other towns.

"We have developed our own signs put up on lamp posts next to the Gummy Bins, stating it is an offence to litter. We noticed that much of the gum litter was found around litter bins, which showed that people had tried to throw away their gum but had missed. People clearly didn’t want to stick their hands into the bins to drop the gum properly" - David

In terms of cost-effectiveness, Dudley Council prefers to spend money on bins rather than on steam-cleaning the streets. They see the initiative as bringing long-term benefits. However, the council still spends 20 times more money per annum on steam-cleaning machinery and personnel than on Gummy Bins.

The deployed costs are £65,000, however the Street Cleansing team’s job includes removing graffiti and flyposting as well as removing gum. During the first yield period 01/06/06 – 25/09/06 a total of 1,746 pieces of gum were collected. By 15/01/07 the count of spots of gum deposited in the transect areas was 258 compared to the start count of 2,253.

Affixed to lamp posts

In a town centre location, the Gummy Bins installation team will aim to place the bins no further than 30 m apart. If placed any further apart, the installations are likely to be less effective because people have more opportunity to drop their gum before reaching a bin. The bins can be affixed to lamp posts, signposts, walls, etc. at a height of approximately 1.4 m.

If they are placed on posts, the bins are installed back-to-back so that they can be seen by pedestrians walking in all directions. When carrying out an installation, Gummy Bins operatives look out for high traffic areas and chewing gum hotspots, such as fast food outlets, bus stops and congregation areas to maximise success.

For more information, please contact Dave Wesson on 01384 814781 or at dave.wesson@dudley.gov.uk

Also see Gummy Bins’ exclusive distributor for UK local authorities, Straight plc, tel 0113 245 2244 or web www.straight.co.uk

www.gummybin.com