The leader of the Almuñécar branch of the PSOE, Francisco Prados, was impressed by how some British towns tackle used chewing gum; he would like to use it here… the system; not the used chewing gum.

The system involves placing a small board on lampposts, about shoulder height, where pedestrians are encouraged to ‘stick’ their used gum, rather than throw it on the pavement. Paco Prados would accompany the installations of the said boards with awareness campaigns carried out in the press and at schools.

He doesn’t suggest placing these boards on every lamppost but instead siting them strategically next to school or kiosks that sell them, for example. It’s all about giving the town a neat and tidy appearance before tourists and visitors in general.

In the USA, which is the epicentre of the ‘gum culture,’ the average American chews 160-180 pieces or about just under a kilo of gum, per year, producing more than 250,000 tons between them, annually. In that gum-smitten land, as well as some European countries, budding artists get down on the pavement to paint the squashed pieces of gum, using a blowtorch to soften it, before spraying it with lacquer and then applying three coats of acrylic enamel. Each ‘gum painting’ takes between a few hours and a few days, and can last several years if the conditions are right.

But let’s look at the gum-board idea realistically… What an unhygienic, visibly disgusting idea! Is it not enough that pedestrians have to tap dance over a splattering of masticated, mouth refuse that we should also have it presented to us, at eye level, on boards? Have gum users never heard of litter bins?

Oh, I admit it; I detest chewing gum so I am hardly neutral but even so…

(News: Almunecar, Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia)