Prestwick town centre is set to benefit from a major pavement-cleaning operation after South Ayrshire Council secured more than £25,000 to tackle chewing gum litter.
The council has been awarded £25,530 from environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy through the Chewing Gum Task Force, which is now in its fifth year.
The funding will allow specialist cleaning work to be carried out along the full length of Prestwick Main Street, with pavements targeted for chewing gum removal during September.
South Ayrshire Council is one of 50 local authorities across the UK to successfully secure funding from the scheme this year.
The Chewing Gum Task Force was established by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and is administered by Keep Britain Tidy. It aims to remove existing chewing gum litter while encouraging long-term changes in behaviour to prevent gum from being dropped in the first place.
The initiative is funded by major chewing gum manufacturers, including Mars Wrigley and Perfetti Van Melle, with up to £10 million being invested over five years.
During the past four years, grants worth a combined £6.46 million have been awarded across the UK. The funding has helped clean more than 4.15 million square metres of pavement, with chewing gum litter reportedly reduced by as much as 86% in areas receiving support.
Prestwick is the latest South Ayrshire town to benefit from the initiative following chewing gum removal work in Troon, which was carried out using funding awarded in 2025.
The council said the Prestwick project would help create cleaner and more welcoming public spaces for residents, businesses and visitors.
Alongside the grant-funded work, South Ayrshire Council has also invested in two new specialist chewing gum removal machines.
The equipment is currently being introduced by the council’s Thriving Communities teams and will be used to tackle chewing gum in town centres across Ayr, Girvan and Maybole.
South Ayrshire Council’s Depute Leader and Policy Lead for Commercial/Operational Services, Councillor Alec Clark, said: “This is great news for our local areas. The funding received from the Chewing Gum Task Force initiative is enabling us to tackle affected areas across South Ayrshire by using removal measures and encouraging behaviour change.
Our towns and villages are our biggest assets and this funding is helping us to keep it that way.”
Keep Britain Tidy’s Chief Executive, Allison Ogden-New OBE, said: “While chewing gum litter remains a stubborn eyesore in our public spaces, the good news is that this scheme is already driving major improvements.
“As an environmental charity, we know that every piece of gum dropped irresponsibly damages the environment, taking years to break down naturally, while also leaving taxpayers to foot the bill for costly clean-up operations.
“Everyone in South Ayrshire can play a part in creating cleaner, greener streets for all by binning their gum properly.”