CBBC
CBBC Newsround
Chewing gum on UK street During the week beginning 20 February 2006, at least 12 areas in the UK will get government money for an advertising campaign encouraging people to bin their used chewing gum.
Students design a campaign to deter local people from dropping their gum.
Learning aims
Case study
Explain to students:
During the week beginning 20 February 2006, at least 12 areas in the UK will get government money for an advertising campaign encouraging people to bin their used chewing gum.
It follows a successful pilot schemes in Preston, Manchester and Maidstone in 2005.
These campaigns involved:
Warm-up
CHEWING GUM COMMENTS
Cleaning chewing gum from a UK street For comments worksheet, select this link
Comments evaluation
Distribute this worksheet on chewing gum comments.
Students put a tick next to three comments they agree with and cross next to three they disagree with.
Students can also join in the online vote.
People submitting comments to the Newsround website suggest six broad solutions to the problem of gum-littered streets:
Main activity
Your campaign
Students imagine they are local councillors who have been given government money for a campaign to deter people in their area from dropping gum.
The money comes with a condition: In order to get it, they must prepare a presentation to convince members of the government that it will be spent effectively.
In pairs or small groups students prepare an outline of their campaign.
Things to think about are:
You can either:
Write a similar news release about your campaign
OR
Present your ideas to the group. For this, you will need to make speech notes and illustrate your presentation with slides, diagrams or posters.
select this link to jump to the Teachers' background which contains facts about gum litter.
Extension activity
More pollution solutions
Students make a list of other polluting products e.g. cigarettes.
Using the solutions list, students write down three ways to combat the pollution, for example:
Plenary
Students read out their news releases or show their presentations to the group.
The group vote on the best proposal.
Ask students: Why is this the most effective idea?
Teachers' background
QUIZ: CHEWING GUM
Chewing gum on UK street What do you know about chewing gum? Enter
It costs around £150 million to clean gum off the UK streets.
Authorities that carry out frequent cleansing can spend up to £200,000 a year on clearing gum.
Under the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act, chewing gum is classed as litter. Therefore people who drop it risk fines of £50.
At present. there are no plans at present to introduce a tax on chewing gum.
The chewing gum industry is researching an easier to remove/biodegradable gum base, however no new products are yet ready for testing.
The Chewing Gum Action Group was set up to find a solution to chewing gum pollution. It brings together several groups including chewing gum manufacturers, local authorities, and the government Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
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