The local health Trust that runs Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals are encouraging patients, visitors and staff to dispose of their used chewing gum in new bright pink, dedicated bins installed around their three hospital sites.
The new gum receptors, called Gumdrops, are made out of recycled chewing gum and have been installed at Doncaster Royal Infirmary, Bassetlaw Hospital and Montagu Hospital in the hope to improve unsightly chewing gum across the organisation’s sites which is very costly to remove.
Dropping used gum into a normal litter bin helps to keep our sites clean but it is not recycled and eventually ends up in landfill. Using the eco-friendly containers, gum is removed from the bins and recycled into plastic, which is used to create more Gumdrops, as well as wellington boots, coffee cups and mobile phone covers.
Suzy Brain England OBE, Chair of the Board for Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals, explains: “Used chewing gum causes a huge litter problem across all of our sites. Installing these bins encourages visitors to dispose of their used gum ensuring that waste is not stuck on pavements and roads around our hospitals which is very unsightly. The bins are hard to miss, being bubble-gum pink in colour, and will save on the cost of cleaning up gum and is part of our commitment to create a clean and healthy environment for patients, visitors, staff and our local community”.
Look out for the colourful bins next time you’re at one of our hospitals and make sure to recycle your gum!