Chewing it over

Proposed gum tax epitomises challenge of how to change behaviour

Chewing gum may not be up there with climate change on the Richter scale of environmental issues. It’s not gum, after all, that the government has recognised as the greatest threat. But that doesn’t mean it can be swept under the carpet.

Some of the challenges it poses for public policy, too, are eerily reminiscent of the emissions debate. Is gum control, for example, something to be tackled through fiscal policy? Liverpool city council recently proposed a 1p per packet national levy to help towards the costs of spent gum removal. Will that be enough?

Or do we really need a gum tax escalator, to have a real impact on overall consumption year on year? Then there’s the producer responsibility route. What about making the manufacturers take the stuff back when it has run out of juice?

Not just in boring dump bins - why not put a Teflon-coated school desk next to every confectionery counter? Does part of the answer lie in better product design? Wrigley says it has spent £5 million, so far without success, on researching biodegradeable gum. But don’t they chew natural products in other cultures?

Betel nut, qat, coca leaves... no, on second thoughts, let’s not go there. There’s surely scope for local action. On-the-spot fines are already used by many local authorities to combat littering in general.

In Leicester city centre, street wardens can sting you £50 straight away if you drop your gum. Still not quite as draconian as Singapore’s laws against chewing the stuff at all… Sharing the learning is always important. Westminster City Council organised a ‘gum summit’ earlier this year. Delegates were there from Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast - raising hopes that action will be concerted, UK-wide.

Any chance of an industry-funded campaign to educate the public? Yes, coming soon - with backing given late last year by Defra. An ‘innovation fund’ to help local councils find some answers? Yes, also due this year, according to the Biscuit, Cake, Chocolate and Confectionery Association, which has been working with the government and other agencies in a Chewing Gum Action Group.

There’s even been some research on consumer psychology, without which no communications initiative stands any chance these days. Apparently gum droppers can be categorised into five different groups. The ‘excuses, excuses’ types know it’s wrong, so do it discreetly and excuse their behaviour.

Those in the ‘bravado’ group enjoy spitting it out and have no regard for the environment. Then there are the ‘selfish cleansers’, who just get rid of it immediately when finished, and the ‘revolted’, whose own behaviour is a complex response to their disgust of others dropping chewing gum. Finally, the ‘whatevers’ don’t know or care about the consequences of discarded gum. Scarcely credible, really.

- Roger East

• Average cost of a piece of gum: 3p

• Cost of removing it from the pavement: over 10p

• Estimated overall cost to local authorities: £150 million a year

• Expenditure on gum removal from London tube trains and stations alone: £2 million

21 June 2005

Roger East