Connect with us
gum litter campaign 2019 gum litter campaign 2019

Awareness

Deputy Mayor of the City and County of Limerick, Cllr Adam Tesky launches gum litter campaign 2019 

Pictured at the launch of the Gum Litter Taskforce’s gum litter campaign 2019 in Bedford Row, Limerick City are Limerick City Tidy Town’s representative, Maura O’Neill, the Deputy Mayor of the City and County of Limerick, Cllr Adam Tesky and Nadia Collins-Sakni, Environment Awareness, Limerick City and County Council. Picture: Keith Wiseman.

Deputy Mayor of the City and County of Limerick, Cllr Adam Tesky launches gum litter campaign 2019 

The Deputy Mayor of the City and County of Limerick, Cllr Adam Tesky officially launched the Gum Litter Taskforce’s gum litter education campaign in Bedford Row, Limerick City, on Tuesday, June 25. The Gum Litter Taskforce (GLT) has been successful to date in changing the public’s behaviour by encouraging correct gum disposal through a targeted education and awareness campaign.

The 2018 campaign maintained an all-time high of 93% of people stating that they regard chewing gum as litter, up from 74% when the campaign first began in 2007, pointing to the attitudinal impact which the campaign has had to date.


advertisement




advertisement




advertisement




advertisement




advertisement



Research commissioned by the Gum Litter Taskforce and conducted by Kantar Millward Brown during the 2018 campaign has highlighted the campaign’s positive effect on people’s behaviour towards gum disposal. The latest results show that 88% of people said that they always dispose of their gum correctly, up from 54% when the campaign first began.

Speaking at the launch, Cllr Adam Tesky, the Deputy Mayor of the City and County of Limerick, said, “The Gum Litter Taskforce’s gum litter education campaign is a fantastic initiative which harnesses community spirit and channels it towards achieving a common goal, that of ridding our streets of littered gum. I am delighted to see local communities from right across the county coming together again this year under the GLT banner in an effort to make a positive change within their respective localities. The GLT campaign has made some very positive inroads to date on this issue and I hope that the campaign will continue to do so again this year.”

Paul Kelly, Chairman of the GLT, added, “Since its inception, the GLT campaign has sought to educate the public on the correct manner in which to dispose of used gum in a bid to tackle improper gum disposal. The latest research results have shown how this ambition has been made a reality, with 88% of people now saying that they always dispose of their gum correctly. Going forward, we will look to build on these positive results further still and will continue in our efforts to fully rid our streets of littered gum. Today’s launch is part of a broader nationwide campaign which includes an advertising campaign and a school’s education programme, Bin It!”.

gum litter campaign 2019

Pictured at the launch of the Gum Litter Taskforce’s gum litter education campaign in Bedford Row, Limerick City is the Deputy Mayor of the City and County of Limerick, Cllr Adam Tesky and Limerick City Tidy Town’s representative, Maura O’Neill. Picture: Keith Wiseman.

Katherine Hogan, Corporate Affairs Director, Mars Ireland said, “Mars Wrigley Ireland are delighted once again to be part of this positive and vibrant campaign. Through awareness-raising and educational initiatives, the GLT campaign has had demonstrable success to date in changing behaviour and attitudes towards gum litter and encouraging positive gum disposal. Although industry-funded, the GLT campaign would not have been able to reach the heights which it has to date without the enthusiastic buy-in and hard work of local authorities and local communities right around the country in tackling the issue of littered gum head on. As ever, we look forward to matching this spirit of enthusiasm through our continued support for this campaign and to playing our part in tackling the issue of gum litter shoulder to shoulder with communities the length and breadth of the country.” 

The 2019 campaign is the second in a three-year cycle which commenced on foot of a negotiated agreement between the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment and Food Drink Ireland (FDI) representing the gum industry.

Each of the local authorities will launch their own campaigns in the coming weeks. The 26 participating authorities are: Cavan County Council, Clare County Council, Cork City Council, Cork County Council, Dublin City Council, Donegal County Council, Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown County Council, Fingal County Council, Galway County Council, Galway City Council, Kerry County Council, Kildare County Council, Laois County Council, Leitrim County Council, Limerick City and County Council, Longford County Council, Louth County Council, Monaghan County Council, Roscommon County Council, Sligo County Council, South Dublin County Council, Tipperary County Council, Westmeath County Council, Waterford City and County Council, Wexford County Council and Wicklow County Council.

For more information on the Gum Litter Taskforce, go here.

For more stories on the Gum Litter Taskforce, go here.

Richard is a presenter, producer, songwriter and actor. He was named the Limerick Person of the Year (2011) and won an online award at the Metro Éireann Media and Multicultural Awards (2011) for promoting multi-culturalism online. Richard says that the ilovelimerick.com concept is very much a community driven project that aims to document life in Limerick. So, that in 20 years time people can look back and remember the events that were making the headlines.