Nuacht is Déanaí

"Bin it your way" Ireland Makes a Move on Gum Litter -

The 2012 Gum Litter Taskforce (GLT) National Gum Litter Environmental Awareness campaign was launched in Dublin last week by the Minister for the Environment, Community  and  Local  Government  Mr  Phil  Hogan  TD  and  the  Lord  Mayor  of  Dublin  Andrew Montague. This national campaign aims to reduce littered gum in the most sustainable way; by changing  irresponsible disposal behaviour  –  the root  cause  of  the  issue  –  by  encouraging  the public to dispose of their gum responsibly. 

The 2012 Gum Litter Taskforce (GLT) National Gum Litter Environmental Awareness campaign was launched in Dublin last week by the Minister for the Environment, Community  and  Local  Government  Mr  Phil  Hogan  TD  and  the  Lord  Mayor  of  Dublin  Andrew Montague. This national campaign aims to reduce littered gum in the most sustainable way; by changing  irresponsible disposal behaviour  –  the root  cause  of  the  issue  –  by  encouraging  the public to dispose of their gum responsibly.

The GLT includes representatives of the chewing gum industry; Department of the Environment, Community  and  Local  Government;  Food  and  Drink  Industry  Ireland;  local  authority representatives and civic society. Speaking at the launch Minister Hogan said:

“Experience has shown us that there are no short term or quick fix solutions to litter. The only long-term sustainable way to deal with the issue is to create a culture where littering of all forms is simply unacceptable. The Gum Litter Taskforce campaign has been designed with this overall goal in mind. It uses an innovative combination of educational and advertising initiatives  to  generate awareness of the issue  and influence future behaviour regarding litter disposal.”

The theme  of the 2012 campaign is  “Bin it your way” and  it features  a series  of professionally choreographed  and  highly  innovative  dance  moves  which  communicate  the  responsible disposal  of  gum  litter  in  an  engaging  way. 

The Gum Litter Task Force will be performing in Dungarvan on the Plaza on Saturday 26th May at 3:00pm. Dont miss out on seeing the following moves:

Please log onto http://gumlittertaskforce.ie/bin-it and look at the five professional dance videos who will give you instructions on how to dance like the professionals! There  is  also  a  strong  interactive  element  to  the campaign  and  members  of  the  public  are encouraged  to  go  online  at  Facebook.com  and search “Bin it your way”, view the dance moves and record and upload some of their own and submit it to the GLT force at sarah@streamabout.com. The judging panel will give the best moves, a prize every month!

 The Bin It Campaign also includes:

• A  schools  education  programme  aimed  at  first  year  secondary  school  students  called “Bin  It!”.  This  includes  an  actor-led  workshop  tour  which  take  place  in  schools  each autumn  and  is  supported  by  materials  and  tools  for  teachers  to  download  and integrate into lesson plans.
• A four months mass media advertising campaign.
• Distribution of sale materials to over 1,000 retailers around the country.
• Litter  monitoring  by  local  authorities  to  see  how  much  littered  gum  is  reduced  on  the streets as a result of the campaign.
• Sponsorship of five awards in the TidyTowns competition.

 GLT Chairman  Mr  Paul  Kelly stated “the  GLT  Gum  Litter  Awareness  campaign  is  focused  on  educating the  minority  of  consumers  who  dispose  of  their  used  chewing  gum  irresponsibly,  highlighting that used chewing gum is classed as litter and irresponsible disposal can incur a littering fine of €150.  The  campaign  aims  to  change  consumer  behaviour  with  regard  to  the  disposal  of  gum rather  than  implementing  short-term  solutions  that  do  not  address  the  underlying  problem  of irresponsible disposal”. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the 23 local authorities who are taking part in this year’s campaign as their work is critical to achieving our goals,” he added. “Indeed, without the help and support of  local authorities we would not  have been able  to achieve  the overall 57% baseline  reduction  in  litter  levels  recorded  during  the  last  three  year  programme.  This year’s campaign takes an innovative approach cutting across all media platforms and channels and is aimed at building on the success of previous campaigns.”

There are 23 local authorities participating: Dublin City Council, Cork City Council, Waterford City  Council,  Limerick  City  Council,  Galway  City  Council  and  the  County  Council’s  of,  Clare, Donegal,  Laois,  Roscommon,  Meath,  Wexford,  Sligo,  Kilkenny,  Fingal,  Westmeath,  South Dublin,  Dun Laoghaire Rathdown, South Tipperary, Waterford, Kerry, Galway  and Leitrim, and the town council of Ennis.