COPELAND Borough Council is supporting the ‘Bin it your Way’ campaign to combat chewing gum litter.

The council is inviting schools, pubs, businesses and community organisations to join it in tackling the issue.

Over 80 councils across the UK are involved in the campaign, which aims to encourage people to bin their chewing gum once they’re finished with it.

The campaign also focuses on the £80 fixed penalty notice that can be issued to anyone caught dropping or spitting chewing gum out in a public place.

The Chewing Gum Action Group has funded the campaign materials which include, banners, plastic boards, posters, flyers and beer mats.

The group offers materials, advice and support to local authorities and other land owners to combat chewing gum litter.

With 95 per cent of retail and commercial sites in England stained by chewing gum, the group is hoping to spread the message and discourage people from disposing of chewing gum in the wrong way.

A previous campaign saw a 36 per cent reduction in gum-dropping with some partners recording a reduction of 60 per cent.

Mike Starkie, Mayor of Copeland, said: “We’re encouraging schools, businesses and local organisations to get involved in our campaign.

“We have stacks of materials and free give always from beer mats to posters, banners and much more.

“It’s vitally important that we do everything we can to discourage residents and visitors from disposing of chewing gum inappropriately.

“We’re doing everything we can to try and keep our towns and villages clean and tidy and we want to stress how important it is to prevent the issue by disposing of waste correctly rather than looking to someone else to clean it up.”

To obtain some of the free campaign material, email communications@copeland.gov.uk.