New pink bins have been placed outside two Wandsworth train stations in an effort to keep chewing gum off the pavement.

The joint project between Wandsworth Council and recycling company Gumdrop comes one month after a climate emergency was declared by the local authority.

“Having seen the areas around the stations there is definitely a problem with gum litter,” said Anna Bullus, founder of Gumdrop.

“We are the first company in the world to recycle and process used gum into new compounds and we hope that this will encourage people to responsibly dispose of their waste gum, which will go towards helping Wandsworth Council achieve their corporate social responsibility goals.”

Once a bin outside Clapham Junction station and Tooting Broadway tube station is full, it will be taken away and all the waste gum inside will be recycled to make three more bins.

“There just isn’t the opportunity to recycle your chewing gum anywhere,” said Cllr Steffi Sutters, the council’s cabinet member for community services and open spaces.

“But by providing these striking bins we are giving people something to use to get rid of their gum and something which will improve their local environment.

The council said that the bins will not only improve the environment in Wandsworth, but also help reduce its cleaning costs.

Ms Bullus hopes the bins will encourage people to not throw gum on the ground.

“We want to give people the choice to recycle their gum," she added.

"By dropping their gum in a Gumdrop they are doing more than just helping to clean up their communities streets.

"Not only can we manufacture more Gumdrop Bins, but all sorts of other plastic products, which will significantly help reduce the amount of virgin plastics and single use plastics being used?

"We’ve also had some fantastic results with universities where our bins have saved them between £18,000 and £25,000 a year on cleaning bills. Many people are amazed when you tell them that the cost of removing one piece of gum is between 30p and £1.50.”

The council added that if the bins around the two stations are a success, then the scheme could be rolled-out borough-wide.