A CHEWING gum summit has been held to tackle the sticky problem of gums being left on streets.

Mayor of London Boris Johnson organised the meeting to encourage chewing gum manufacturers, disposal and clean-up experts, councils and others to blitz gum litter ahead of the 2012 Olympics.

The cost of cleaning up London’s streets from chewing gum is estimated as being around £10m every year, with removal of each piece costing between 50p and £2.

Speakers at the event included Anna Bullus, a designer who has invented Gumdrop bins made from recycled gum to collect used chewing gum.

Representatives from organisations like Wrigley, Cadbury, Keep Britain Tidy, the Chewing Gum Action Group, also discussed how to tackle the problem.