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A £7,000 grant has been awarded to Caerphilly County Borough Council to clean up chewing gum from the pavements of Blackwood.

The council is one of 54 local authorities across the UK to have successfully applied for funding from the Chewing Gum Task Force, which has been administered by environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy.

Cllr Chris Morgan, council cabinet member for waste, said: “Although these funds were requested and approved for the cleansing of Blackwood specifically, we will be using the money to invest in equipment and staffing to ensure that communities throughout the borough benefit from the grant.”

Originally set up by the UK Government, the task force is funded by major chewing gum manufacturers, including Mars Wrigley and Perfetti Van Melle – with up to £10m of investment spread over five years.

Allison Ogden-Newton OBE, Keep Britain Tidy’s chief executive, said: “Chewing gum litter is highly visible on our high streets and is both difficult and expensive to clean up, so the support for councils provided by the Chewing Gum Task Force and the gum manufacturers is very welcome.

“However, once the gum has been cleaned up, it is vital to remind the public that when it comes to litter, whether it’s gum or anything else, there is only one place it should be – in the bin – and that is why the behaviour change element of the task force’s work is so important.”

Research carried out by Behaviour Change – a not-for-profit social enterprise – has shown that, in areas that have benefitted from the funding, there has been a reduced rate of gum littering for six months after the clean-up and introduction of gum litter preventions.

It estimates the annual clean-up cost of chewing gum for councils in the UK is around £7 million and, according to Keep Britain Tidy, around 77% of streets in England, and 99% of retail sites, are stained with gum.