Westminster City Council is sponsoring a private bill that is undergoing legislation in the House of Lords, which seeks to give London councils the power to ban the sale of chewing gum.
The ACS branded the council's proposals as unworkable and poorly conceived, arguing that the ban would damage the revenues of many of its members, while doing little to solve the problem of people spitting out their gum on the streets. It said it had evidence to show that people chew gum for more than 20 minutes on average, meaning they are unlikely to dispose of their gum anywhere near where they bought it.
ACS chief executive David Rae (pictured) said: 'Westminster's proposals are poorly targeted. They would hurt shops in certain areas, while other would be unaffected. Of course the real target should be the individual litterers who drop gum.'
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