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When was the last time you dropped gum? Rate your habits around waste here

The not-so-refreshing habit now carries a €150 fine – ouch.

IN THE WAKE of the Dáil declaring a climate emergency last week, it’s the perfect time for us to see what we can do on an individual level for the environment. One of the best ways of doing this is by thinking about the waste we generate and how we dispose of it. 

Fortunately, we’re getting better at reducing our levels of dropping chewing gum. Research carried out by Kantar Millward Brown found that the percentage of people who do this is down to 5% from 12% in 2017. The portion of people who say they never drop gum has risen from 31% to 44% in the last few years, but there’s still work to be done.

So, tell us – what are your habits really like when it comes to keeping public places clean? Will you happily cling onto your receipt-wrapped chewing gum until you find a bin? Or are you often guilty of throwing banana skins in public, Mario Kart-style?

Use our interactive sliders below to give us an honest picture. First, let’s look at your habits when you’re in somewhere more urban.

A BAD WRAP

You just finished eating something and there’s no bin in sight for the wrapper, how likely would you be to drop it, 10 being very likely?

5

 

CHEW ON THIS

The chewing gum you’ve been eating is starting to get a bit tough, how likely are you to put it in the bin when you’re done, 10 being very likely?

5

 

TAGGING OFF

You’ve just bought an emergency umbrella, how likely are you to walk to the bin with the tags, 10 being very likely?

5

 

TRAINING IN

You’ve just stepped off the train and there’s no bin nearby, how likely are you to hold onto your ticket until you do find one, 10 being very likely?

5

Sometimes it can be easier to be responsible when there are bins every hundred metres or so. So what happens when you go further afield, into fields? Does your behaviour change depending on the backdrop – is it easier to leave things on a beach? Maybe things slip a little when your pawed friend is in tow. Share with us below.

BREAKING BREAD

When you’re eating outside, how likely are you to drop food you don’t want, 10 being very likely?

5

 

BEARING FRUIT

When you're out for a walk, how likely are you to leave behind ‘natural’ leftovers like apple cores and banana skins, 10 being very likely?

5

 

DOGGIE DON'T

Be honest, how likely would you be to clean up after your dog and leave the bag behind, 10 being very likely?

5

 

LIFE'S A BEACH

After spending time at the beach, how likely are you to bury your litter in the sand, 10 being very likely?

5

No matter what you get up to while out for a stroll, binning your gum when you’re done should be top of your list. Did you know that by incorrectly disposing of gum, you’re not only littering, but breaking the law? So do the decent thing – bin your gum, and avoid a €150 fine. Visit gumlittertaskforce.ie for more information.

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    Mute Mark Fields
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    May 15th 2019, 9:03 AM

    I’ve never in my life dropped chewed gum on the sidewalk, nor fastened it the underside of a table which is disgusting also. I’m surprised there was no question about plastic straws. Every time I’ve used a disposable cup and straw I put it in a bin. I carry all sorts of small items like used tickets, receipts and wrappers in my pocket and they go into a recycle bin.

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    Mute tooler doogan
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    May 15th 2019, 9:14 AM

    @Mark Fields sidewalk??

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    Mute Mark Fields
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    May 15th 2019, 10:00 AM

    @tooler doogan: at sidewalk and further afield and beaches as was suggested in the article. There was a clever photograph depicting a show about to step onto a freshly dropped wad of gum. How about a photograph of a sidewalk or paved area showing the hundreds of pieces of gum, or a shoe sole with gum already stuck to it?

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    Mute Mark Fields
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    May 15th 2019, 10:03 AM

    @tooler doogan: ahh… I should have written footpath.

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    Mute tooler doogan
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    May 15th 2019, 12:02 PM

    @Mark Fields: ah fair play

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    Mute Charles Coughlan
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    May 15th 2019, 7:01 AM

    I’d dispose if food like chips for birds to eat, you could have included cigarette buts in the survey, unnatural to see the zombies throwing them on the ground just outside the Mercy Hospital in Cork where i am at the moment.

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    Mute Renton Burke
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    May 15th 2019, 9:08 AM

    @Charles Coughlan: or out of cars because they don’t want to sorry the ashtray. Disgusting, but apparently zero interest from gardai in this easily identifiable act.

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    Mute Peter
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    May 15th 2019, 11:34 AM

    @Renton Burke: How is that apparent?

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    Mute Roy Dowling
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    May 15th 2019, 6:16 PM

    @Renton Burke: no ashtrays in cars anymore

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    Mute Karl Charlie
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    May 15th 2019, 6:19 PM

    @Roy Dowling: there is of you pay for the smoking package

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    Mute Elaynehb
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    May 15th 2019, 8:18 AM

    Jesus Christ what kind of savages just drops litter.. have they no pockets to shove a wrapper or train ticket in !? At a push the only thing I’d leave is something biodegradable like a banana skin or Apple core in the undergrowth..not on a footpath!

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    Mute Mirabelle Stonegate
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    May 15th 2019, 8:53 AM

    Do they think everyone owns a dog? I have no intention of ever picking up dog droppings.. which is why I will never own a dog..

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    Mute Peter
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    May 15th 2019, 11:36 AM

    @Mirabelle Stonegate: Do they think everyone chews gum?

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    Mute Jack
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    May 15th 2019, 9:39 AM

    Growing up in 80s I’ve actually had to readjust to putting litter in bins..5th year school tour in Germany couldn’t believe how clean the country was and I took that life lesson home..I never threw a paper on the ground again..

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    Mute Sean Ryan
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    May 15th 2019, 5:27 PM

    @Jack: growing up in the 80s too and if I’d of littered my parents would have clattered me

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    Mute Patricia Ellis Dunne
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    May 15th 2019, 7:47 PM

    @Jack: i was a teenager in the 70s and 80s and never littered

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    Mute SmidgenDublin
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    May 15th 2019, 10:59 AM

    No-one is going to admit to delicately littering! I live near a school and every lunch time students leave a tail of sandwich wrappers, papers bags and boxes from wedges in stages from the local Mace to a few metres from the school gates. There’s a bin right outside the school gate. I have on occasion picked up all this rubbish and brought it to the schools office. Always full of apologies but never say what they’re going to do about. These kids do what they see from family.

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    Mute SmidgenDublin
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    May 15th 2019, 11:00 AM

    @SmidgenDublin: *deliberately.

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    Mute Peter
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    May 15th 2019, 11:37 AM

    @SmidgenDublin: But this is anonymous

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    Mute Peter Byrne
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    May 15th 2019, 2:10 PM

    Have to say Irish are very dirty in general. Just walked into work and picked up six plastic bottles just discarded
    On the vast home last night from a run , picked up at least 10 bottles and cans.
    People seem to use Farmleigh Lane as a dumping area

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    Mute Anthony Clark
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    May 15th 2019, 2:49 PM

    @Peter Byrne: yes – Joggers round our area think they are doing marathons the way they can just drink from and discard the energy drink bottles on the road – or leave them stuck on the railings.

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    Mute Fiona Fitzgerald
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    May 15th 2019, 6:15 PM

    To be fair, they seem to pick up a lot of used gum, using their soles. Although I don’t think anyone means to.

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    Mute Anthony Clark
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    May 15th 2019, 2:47 PM

    Orange peels and bananna skins are not going to bio-degrade anytime soon.
    They can be there littering the place for months or more, especially in upland areas, until someone picks them up for you.

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    Mute Fiona Fitzgerald
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    May 15th 2019, 6:17 PM

    Wouldn’t peels only attract vermin? How come there are no apps to use to locate the nearest bin?

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    Mute OpenLitterMap
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    May 15th 2019, 6:57 PM

    Join us and share data on litter anywhere @ OpenLitterMap.com – it’s like Pokémon Go for Tidy towns!

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    Mute DERMOT
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    May 15th 2019, 2:08 PM

    Absolutely read this the wrong way

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    Mute Jeannine McGuirl-Khumnariang
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    May 16th 2019, 5:30 AM

    On holiday in Asia at the moment and the amount of plastic people go through daily is insane!!
    And for anyone who throws ‘biodegradable’ banana skins in the undergrowth, they take a lot longer to degrade than you would think, there are hiking trails that have banned bananas because of it

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    Mute Deirdre Gosson
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    May 16th 2019, 9:22 AM

    Disgusting stuff , never use it

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