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 Eco Cabs and merchandising provided by the GLT. Each of the Local Authorities will launch their own campaigns in the coming weeks. The 26 participating Local Authorities in 2016 are: Dublin, Cork City and County Councils, Galway City and County Councils, Clare, Donegal, Dun-Laoghaire Rathdown, South County Dublin, Fingal, Kilkenny, Kerry, 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 40,000 students have taken part in the program. In 2015, 57 schools participated with 42% of these schools using the roadshow to help achieve their green flag. The roadshow continues to impress both students and teachers alike, with 86% 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 2016 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 2016 will be divided across two categories with an overall winner: