Gum Litter Taskforce’s ‘Bin It!’ Roadshow Launches Largest-Ever Nationwide Tour

• The GLT Bin IT! Roadshow returns with the largest roadshow to date, with 78 performances across the country
• This year the Roadshow will visit 68 schools across 25 counties
• Nearly 8,000 young people will take part in the programme’s interactive workshop this year

The Gum Litter Taskforce Bin It! Roadshow is back on the road this week, with its largest tour to date! This year’s Roadshow will host 78 performances nationwide, to drive positive behavioural change around attitudes to gum litter amongst students, making it the most significant roadshow to date. The Bin It! Roadshow is an integral part of the Gum Litter Taskforce’s (GLT) gum litter education campaign, which uses fun actor-led workshops and interactive learning materials to promote the responsible disposal of gum litter to schoolchildren.

Young people are increasingly eco-conscious, however even among this demographic, some 14% continue to litter their gum. Across all age groups, males are found to litter more than females.

Research has shown that lifestyle patterns and habit formation begin at an early age, with schoolchildren thought to be most be susceptible to social influence from ages 11 to 14 years of age*, meaning the Roadshow plays a key role in developing proper litter disposal habits.

Over the next eight weeks, the Gum Litter Taskforce’s Bin It! education programme will travel across 25 counties and deliver a total of 78 performances across 68 schools, both primary and secondary.

The Gum Litter Taskforce will also continue to provide useful lesson plan material on its website, with materials made available to almost 730 schools across Ireland to date.

Avril Donlon, Chair of the Gum Litter Taskforce said: “It is such a pleasure to be launching the Bin It! Roadshow for 2024 with the largest schedule to date. We are looking forward to the continued success of the roadshow and engaging with young people across Ireland to highlight the environmental impacts of littering in a positive and interactive way. We are delighted with the expansion of schools year on year, with a record 78 performances planned for this year. The continued success and demand for the tour is a great indication of the value add of the programme, and a credit to the Bin It! team for creating such an engaging and informative performance about gum litter.” 

Anne Sheeran Corporate Affairs Specialist Mars Ireland said: “The Bin It! Roadshow is an exciting and extremely important part of the GLT campaign, given its focus on young people. We are delighted be visiting 25 counties and reaching nearly 8,000 students this year. The Bin It! Education Programme provides us with a great opportunity to target that small cohort of young people who continue to litter gum and we are looking forward to seeing this year’s results.”

The GLT education campaign is fully funded by Mars Wrigley, and free for all participating schools. The GLT campaign also includes a roadshow that travels throughout the country in the summer months promoting responsible gum behaviours with the help of local authorities, TV and online advertising campaign, as well as an accompanying website www.gumlittertaskforce.ie.

The present cycle of the GLT campaign is the fifth to take place, with previous campaign cycles running between 2007-2009, 2012-2014, 2015-2017, and 2018 – 2021 (a year was added to the last cycle due to the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown restrictions).

*Reference: Emotional and Social Development, Ages 11 to 14 Years

The latest campaign includes:

• A national online and broadcast media advertising campaign with an active social media presence across key platforms, i.e. Snapchat, Instagram and Twitter.
• Teaching resources in the form of videos, lesson plans and teacher notes will be provided to participating schools. The videos will follow Doc and Taylor from the roadshow and provide key information and introduce an activity that students can get involved in with the support of their teacher. The video and the activity come together to teach the key learning points.

• Videos, lesson plans and all other educational resources will be made available to download and integrate into lesson plans (http://biniteducation.com/).
• A dedicated GLT website – http://www.gumlittertaskforce.ie/
• Sponsorship of three awards in the TidyTowns competition and support for virtual/socially distant Tidy Towns, Green Schools, Neat Streets and National Spring Clean campaigns.