Sunderland City Council has noticed more residents dropping their chewing gum - and it can be expensive to remove. The council has received clean-up money from the Chewing Gum Task Force for the fifth year running. Administered by environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy, the funding supports efforts to remove chewing gum litter from public spaces and prevent future offences through cleaner streets and stronger messaging. "Chewing gum may appear to be a minor littering issue, but when dropped on our streets it can be difficult and expensive to remove. The impact of gum litter is widespread.