Town to slap ban on gum

A WEST of Ireland seaside town is bidding to become the country's first chewing gum-free zone.

Westport, Co Mayo Chamber of Commerce is urging retailers in the town to ban the sale of all gum from their shops.

The move comes after a survey found that the town's streets were plastered with discarded gum.

While the general litter problem was well under control, ways have to be found to rid the town of gum, Chamber president, Dr. Oliver Whyte said.

"While litter is a big problem for other towns, it has been well controlled in Westport, thanks to the work of the Tidy Town committee and the town council," he said.

"But our survey has highlighted the huge amounts of chewing gum and cigarette butts that are defacing the town's streets and footpaths.

"These are breaches of the Litter Act which is being actively enforced by the town council.

"But we feel that the most effective way to get rid of the problem is to ask local shopkeepers to stop selling chewing gum."

Dr Whyte said his organisation would be taking up the proposed ban with the Chambers of Commerce of Ireland to see if it could be extended to other towns.

He added: "Such a widespread ban would force chewing gum manufacturers to produce a gum that would dissolve after a specified period of chewing."

Last year Westport was awarded the national Tidy Town accolade and this year they were just two points off the overall winner, Castletown, Co. Laois.

The chairperson of the Westport Tidy Towns Committee, Bridie Moran said a ban on chewing gum would be very desirable but would probably be difficult to impose.

"It would certainly help our Tidy Towns ratings," she confessed.

Copyright 2002 MGN LTD
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.