You surely know this: You walk through the city and suddenly it sticks with every step. Once again you have stepped in a chewing gum. That is disgusting and annoying at the same time. Although there are actually enough public waste bins, chewing gum in particular is too often carelessly spat on the ground. Alongside cigarette butts, chewing gum is therefore one of the biggest litter problems on the Zeil. Five times a year, the Frankfurt waste management company FES has to remove chewing gum residues there at great expense.
The Stabsstelle Sauberes Frankfurt, #cleanffm and FES now want to prevent this kind of pollution of the city with a joint project: With the first gum walls, which have now been installed in the city center. Playfully against environmental pollution - a really nice concept that Dagmar Schöne from the Stabsstelle Sauberes Frankfurt describes like this: "Anyone who wants to get rid of their used chewing gum can now stick it in a green box on a paper wall covered with funny #cleanffm smileys," says Schöne. "A clean solution after chewing gum enjoyment". Up to 49 pieces of gum fit on the waterproof paper wall. Completely stuck, it is replaced by a new one.
"Commercially available chewing gum is not biodegradable and, if spat on the floor and allowed to dry out, will stick for up to five years," Dagmar Schöne continues. "With the support of our #cleanffm campaign, we want to use the gum walls to humorously encourage people to stick chewing gum on the paper wall. Every piece of chewing gum stuck on the paper wall of the Gum Walls is a contribution to a cleaner Frankfurt."
A total of five gum walls are to be installed on the Zeil and in the city centre area when the project starts. "This is where a lot of people hang out, spitting their chewing gum on the ground instead of disposing of it in the trash can," says FES staff director Michael Werner. "Especially for us as a waste management company, the removal of chewing gum is difficult because it has to be removed one by one due to the nature of the flooring. We actively support the project and take over the regular replacement of the sticking sheets."
The Gum-Walls are an initiative from Baden-Württemberg with the aim of preventively reducing chewing gum pollution on a wide variety of surfaces. "Where the Gum-Wall is used, we can observe that the device is used and causes conversation. In addition, the colorful eye-catchers raise awareness of the problem, so that the trash cans are also used more," explains Klaus Götz, initiator of the project.
In addition to the Gum-Walls, there are also similar playful disposal options for cigarette butts on the Zeil. Let's hope that this form of waste disposal will be accepted by the citizens and that our city will become a bit cleaner.
