Ireland plans gum tax to pay for street cleaning

Ireland is adopting a Singapore-style "clean up tax" on chewing gum in a radical plan to curb litter louts and the mess they leave.

Under the new law, buyers of chewing gum will pay an additional five to 10 cents on every pack of gum at point of sale to try to save the taxpayer the €8m spent every year on removing unsightly gum.

Also affected by the levy are fast-food wrappers - only if the supplier persists in using environmentally unfriendly polystyrene wrappers - and cash machine receipts.

The measure is similar to the 15 cent tax placed on plastic bags that resulted in the number of plastic bags used in Ireland being cut by 1 billion in its first year. But the chewing gum levy, unlike the plastic bag tax, is designed "so that those using chewing gum will pay for its clean up", according to a government source. The money will be ring-fenced for a special Environment Fund and redirected to local councils.

"Is it fair that those who don't use chewing gum pay for the cost of cleaning it up?" the source asked.

The proposals, which are already drawn up, will be brought before the Cabinet as early as September by Martin Cullen, the Environment Minister, and are due to be introduced as soon as possible afterwards.

The clean-up charge is based on the "polluter pays" principle now common in most EU countries and it is not expected to lead to any substantial reduction in sales, which have been rocketing over the past decade.

Government research used while planning the charge showed that 500 tons - equivalent to 80 million packs or €40m of sales - end up on Irish streets every year.

The Environment Fund - which is financed by the landfill and plastic bag taxes - is expected to receive €55m this year, which will go towards green initiatives with €35m set aside for investment in waste recycling

Litter offences recorded by local authorities in the second half of 2002 reached 13,176.