Local Authority participation
We invite Local Authorities to participate in the campaign. With the support of the GLT, Local Authorities
launch and run their campaigns locally in return for paid-for advertising in their area, media relations
support, launch supporting items such as GLT props and merchandising provided by the GLT. Each of the Local
Authorities launch their own campaigns over the Summer with local Mayors, Cllr’s & TidyTowns groups
typically involved with each event. The participating Local Authorities are: Dublin, Cork City and County
Councils, Galway City and County Councils, Clare, Donegal, Dun-Laoghaire Rathdown, South County Dublin,
Fingal, Kilkenny, Leitrim, Limerick City and County Council, Cavan, Longford, Laois, Louth, Meath, Sligo,
Roscommon, Tipperary, Waterford, Westmeath, Wexford and Wicklow.
The GLT provides campaign information and supports
the selected Local Authorities by providing:
- Paid-for TV, poster and online advertising
- GLT website with dedicated section for Local Authorities. GLT posters
are available to download from the GLT website as well as the
GLT TV adverts
- Merchandising for the Local Authorities to use in their campaigns
- Supporting materials for Local Authority launches, including a 'Bin It!' game
and promotional team
- Media relations support
Local Authority roles and responsibilities:
In return for their support of the campaign, participating
Local Authorities are required to commit time to the campaign by taking on the following
responsibilities:
- Take the lead role in planning, launching and implementing the GLT campaign
in their area
- Highlight the litter fine through stronger enforcement by litter
wardens
- Carry out initiatives to tackle littered gum on an on-going basis during
the campaign e.g. school visits and incorporate the campaign
message in your Local Authority awareness raising and
education activities and in your contacts with local
media
- Provide regular progress reports to the GLT with regard to the campaign
progress in your Local Authority area
- Ensure that GLT merchandising supplied is handed out to raise awareness of
the campaign and encourage people to dispose of their chewing
gum responsibly
- Raise interest of the campaign among the local community (e.g.
TidyTowns committees and youth groups)
Schools
By helping students understand that gum littering is wrong and has a
consequence,
we can significantly reduce gum litter. Our Bin It! programme is key to this and brings
the issue alive in an engaging and fun way which can be easily integrated into lessons.
Bin It! Education Campaign
This programme is tailored for first year secondary school students to raise their
awareness of the importance of the responsible disposal of gum. It comprises:
- A free actor-led workshop tour which visits schools with a theatre-in-education session encouraging
students to dispose of litter, and particularly gum litter, responsibly.
- The website biniteducation.com/resources which
contains lesson plans, teachers’ notes, posters and activity cards to integrate the issues explored by Bin
It! into the curriculum.
To date, almost 70,000 students have taken part in the program. In 2022, 57 schools
participated with some of these schools using the roadshow to help achieve their green flag. The roadshow
continues to impress both students and teachers alike, with 92% of teachers rating the educative content of the
roadshow as, very good/excellent.
TidyTowns Awards
The TidyTowns Awards are a great opportunity to encourage the whole community to improve their local area.
Since our initial partnership in 2007, the GLT are delighted to continue sponsorship of the TidyTowns
awards.
The GLT in conjunction with TidyTowns, would like to reward the towns and villages that are working to eliminate gum
litter, enabling best practices and novel successful approaches to be shared with other communities.
The GLT award for 2023 is divided across two categories with an overall winner: