Gum a sticking point for locals
NEWTON Stewart residents have spoken out at their disgust over the amount of chewing gum trodden into pavements around the town.
They claim that the sight of the gum will put off visitors from returning and that nothing is being done about tackling the "revolting habit" of spitting it out in public places.
One man contacted the Gazette to point out the vast amount of gum on streets outside premises popular with youths who hang around them in evenings such as The Cinema and local takeaway outlets.
Jim Thorburn from the town said: "I often notice the big ugly blobs and wonder why no one clears them up. I have seen kids spitting it out and once I told them to stop and pick it up but they ignored me.
"But I'm sure it's not only kids that do it. Maybe people think it'll biodegrade in time but it doesn't and is an absolute eyesore."
His pal added: "When I was a boy if we'd done that we'd have been clipped about the ear and we'd never have done it again - we recognised how much of a revolting habit it was to spit it out. But no one seems to care these days."
Parts of the town of particular concern include Victoria Street, Morton's Entry and Victoria Lane and Jim says we should consider a total chewing gum ban like what is in place in Singapore.
He said: "They banned it when people started sticking it under chairs and on seats on the Metro. Why can't we do that? It's such a blight and visitors will think we've no manners if we go about spitting all over the pavements."
Chewing gum is one of the most offensive environmental contaminants in Scotland and is considered one of the country's biggest public cleansing problems.
Chewing gum boards were introduced in parts of The Stewartry two years ago to encourage people not to spit or drop their gum onto the pavements, but such initiatives have not been brought in across the region.
A council spokesperson said: "There is no set policy for removing chewing gum. The council has a machine that uses steam and chemicals to remove gum. The machine is very effective but, when it was first purchased, as there was so much chewing gum on the pavements it could take hours to clean only a few metres of concrete. Any cleaning must be done within budget, bearing in mind the costs of labour, transport, etc."
In the UK, 281m of chewing gum is purchased by consumers each year and reports in 2005 showed that local authorities pay some 150m a year to clean the streets of the rubber-based chew.
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Weather for Newton Stewart
Sunday 05 February 2012
Today
Light showers
Temperature: 4 C to 6 C
Wind Speed: 14 mph
Wind direction: West
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Sunny spells
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