Bill stickers will be prosecuted!

Why? What did Bill Stickers do wrong that the Glasgow City Council would want to prosecute him?

It's a bit like the army order "shoot at will". Poor sod.

As a slight 'off-topic' , I recently saw a program about the continuing problem of chewing-gum on pavemnets. Apart from the fairly clever technology to remove the stuff , I noticed that it can be recycled. It is currently being stashed to make into track surfacing for the London Olympics. I kid you not. Truly Bizarre. I would sooner walk over the offending gum chewers , but this is a reasoned solution.

As an 'on-topic' - how about running a sting. Alter the contact number , and wait until the irate phone call comes from the promoter.

What's so special about a hot pressure washer?

Try a gas fire extinguisher and a hammer! Frozen gum splinters, and can be swept up before it melts.

So what will happen to the running track if we get a good spell of weather for the games??

Hot pressure washers seem to be about the only way , though they can reportedly damage paving. Also trying to clean along somewhere like Oxford Street might be a problem. Some Councils have put up bins. One Council employed 'advisors' to amble around telling people this fact ! " Hello sir , I notice you are chewing gum. Did you notice there is a bin over there ? " - That was an factual quote. Jeez , what next , squads outside MacD's -" Excuse me fatso - I notice you're a bit of a bloater. Did you know there's a Diet Centre over there ? ". I don't like treading on Gum and I don't like getting squashed by obese people , but 'advisors ' is going a bit far. Interestingly the 'adviser' I quoted approached a middle age be-suited bloke , not a group of hoodies. Can't think why.

Those people at Gummiwhatever reckon the stuff can be treated so as to use it as some kind of underlay for running tracks. Fact , is unsurprisingly hard to find. Perhaps it could just be re-packaged and given free to local government officers. They are after all cuddly bears.

Frozen gum is brittle, so can be easily loosened with a single blow from a hammer - CO2 taken from a "carbon capture" system would at least reduce the use of more heat, as well as speeding up the operation.

The only reason gum is chewed now is that it wasn't good enough for car tyres in the 1870s.

Frozen gum is brittle

I did hear you , honest. That may work when your best hush-puppies get gummed , but I can't see large scale application (or am I missing something ?). Check out searches for 'gum+ Oxford street' . It sound like more gum than paving ! If a machine was devised to freeze-bash the stuff off , I wonder how much pavement would be left. Someplace I saw a very hi-tech purpose built vehicle for cleaning gum , but didn't pay much attention and can't remember where. . I think it's going to go the way of simply banning it. That doesn't bother me cos I hate the stuff , but it seems like Big Brother getting carried away.

Maybe the litter laws should be enforced?

I think they already had to bring in a new or modified law just because of gum. They are concerned about the PR during the London olympics - can't have the world seeing our gummy streets and all that.

July : smokers

August: gum chewers

September: fast food

Sometime never: anything that might impede the fun of politicians. Bribery , corruption , accountability. You name it really.

One thing I have noticed is the way the amount of gum on the streets varies from town to town and region to region. Maybe we should do a socio economic study to determine the factors involved? This could be the demise of the North / South divide!

.... unless we analyse gum brands. The nations favourite arguing point must be preserved at all costs. Let's make all those Northeners pick it up. They've got nout else to do.(I couldn't find that song)

Scotland is a heck of a lot cleaner than elsewhere. This is a fairly comprehensive link.

The song mentioned in post 56 is mentioned here.

It's a bit like the army order "shoot at will".....

You've seen Zulu then..

Those pesky hooligans. Next thing you know they will be knocking over dust bins!

Great idea! Can we do the same to people who park in a handicapped spot and don't have a handicapped sticker or tag? Maybe we could put a "Cancelled" sticker over the license tag on their car. --David

I used to belong to the NABD, we had enormous entertainment picketing supermarket car parks, making sure that only disabled people used the designated spaces. The biggest problem group where high end saloons (Merc's etc) driven by well presented women. Confronted by a baying group of scruffy bikers, it's amazing how they would just carry on as though nothing was happening! They sure didn't like having there tyres deflated, especially as the police just shrugged as there was no damage.

Hi PibMak. I think it is a great idea and hope other councils will soon follow. Walking around the center of Birmingham recently I noted with discused all the walls and lamposts were covered in these damned flyers. But there is something I do not understand, why don't city councillors put up a big billboard for these people who do this to advertise their forthcoming events? Maybe it is just that I was brought up to think logically, something all politicians don't understand. When I was living in the far northwest of Scotland the local village council heeded my plea for such a billboard, and guess what, within a week the village was free of all the fly posters. Spencer.

anyone remember a few years ago when the ban on selling chewing gum was lifted in someplace like hong kong or tawian? the problem of gum on the sidewalks had become such an epidemic that they banned its sale.

There are alternatives.

Surely FEFRA wouldn't tell fibs would they ?

GummyBins have a cuddly logo , and they supply HippoWaste who also have a cuddly logo. HippoWaste are part of Waste Management Systems who.........don't seem to have a web site. Oooooh. What can it mean ? I'm off to eat some spinach and build myself up. The Olympics will be a huge success. Powers that be will have a marvelous time coining it in. Unlike all the organizations currently having funds pulled in order to pay for it. Staging an orgy is far more important than all those charities and community projects. The politicians and Civil Servants desperately need our support and money.

No no, the chewing gum thing is fine, (although I always doubt the Defra stats) it's their ability to perform a specific task thats a worry. re you familiar with their huge cock up over the avian flu outbreak in Suffolk? I happen to know a HSE consultant who was involved. Defra did not cover themselves with glory that week, and put together with a few dealings I've had, my confidence in them is low low low. Anyway, didn't you mention the chewing gum running track? Now that's brilliant!

I can't think of any government department I trust.

The running track underlay sounds like a good idea. Try finding something factual beyond the fact that gum is being collected - I couldn't see anything beyond hype. When there is a problem , government seems to jump for any solution the appears to solve it . WW11 has plenty of examples - unusable aluminium scrap , eating spinach etc etc. I suspect that a big pile of gum will be collected , and disposed of in silence. The fiasco over the logo seems to typify a lot about the Olympics. Noble sporting ideals have long since gone.

Oh dear, we seem to have slipped into cynicism! If you want to really knock the gov.com about the Olympics, ask what they are doing to make the games environmentally friendly. Athletics has one of the worst carbon footprints around as far as sport goes. For example, F1 has been carbon neutral for 10 years. What has athletics done to offset all that travelling? Bugger all.

I agree. The only thing green about the Olympics now , is the bile it causes to rise from my stomach.

A cynic is said to 'know the value of nothing and the cost of everything'. The government know nothing of cost ,that's for sure.

If they had a category for sitting in barrels I'd be a winner.

Well, if you must live in a barrel, rather then Diogenes I'd prefer to be Didactylus.

"You can't trust any bugger further than you can throw him, and there's nothing you can do about it, so let's have a drink." --Dydactylos the philosopher--

ROFLMAO - I never heard of that before. I shall have to get a copy. Double-plus funny.

I believe you're talking about Singapore, which banned all chewing gum until very recently. Very clean, rational, no-nonsense country, and relatively crime-free. Looks a lot like L.A., but much cleaner, and English is spoken better. The justice system has firm penalties and doesn't believe in "extenuating circumstances". I'm told that airline tickets have warnings printed on the back: "Singapore executes drug smugglers"!

Did you notice a story recently about Farmers ? I just had a look and couldn't find it. The story was about how they are getting hi-tech (ie computers) to disrupt planned illegal raves ( I Couldn't phrase that without implying something stupid - not intended at all ). I sort of wondered from you being in farmin' country and all that .

It should work!

An alternative would be a notice saying: No fly sticking - trespassers will be prostituted.

I think Zips should be looked at, If they don't stick they open by themselves.

Can I post this ?

I would alter the time or date on illegal posters. That would really annoy people going to illegal raves and such - they would never trust any fly-post again and so it would stop (?). Why aren't Councils acting on phone boxes ? Yes , I have a suggestion but it's too obvious. I hope I get away with the link (posted as a link because it's a bit 'iffy , but it does make a valid point).

Bill stickers, gun, lugies, and any other problem by inconciderate knobheads should be dealt with simply by catching them in the act, eithier by police or citizens, and make them clean up one street for the offence, 2 streets for 2nd and so on. Gum has DNA one or 2 costly tests to determine the culprit and let them figure out how to get it off 1,2 or 3 streets. Being on ones knees scrapping gum I believe would have the desired affect. No one would know how many DNA tests were done and if the poor bonehead on his knees saw anyone violating, he gets a break and a helper, who would also be on the look out for help. It would be very cost effective.