Chewing gum from the mouths of Bradfordians is to be given a new lease of life - helping Britain's up-and-coming athletes.

The country's future Olympic running stars could find themselves training on tracks made from recycled chewing gum thrown away by shoppers in Bradford, under a groundbreaking scheme.

The city's Kirkgate Centre has introduced special bins where people can dispose of their gum instead of throwing it down. When full, the distinctive silver Gummy Bins are emptied and the gum broken down and recycled into the surface material used for running tracks.

The method is the first recyclable chewing gum disposal system in the world and has already been adopted by a number of local authorities across the UK as well as other organisations including entertainment centres, sporting venues, nightclubs, bus and train stations.

Staff at the Kirkgate centre believe the bins will help greatly towards reducing the amount of gum that staff have to remove from the floor in and around the shopping malls.

Centre manager Catherine Riley said: "It is fantastic. One the biggest problems our cleaners have is scraping up chewing gum. When the bin is full the gum is taken to be sterilised. It is mixed with an additive to restructure it for filtration, then the mix is chopped into fine pieces and added to an aggregate that is used to make running tracks. The scheme will be successful, without a doubt."

The bins - manufactured in Cheshire - have been placed in the shopping malls, next to the lift lobby and near the toilets, as well as in the main entrances.

"We think people will use them, particularly as they are helping the environment," said Miss Riley. The scheme will be officially launched on in the centre on Saturday. "We are aiming to educate people, to show them that there is a way of reusing chewing gum if they put it in the bin."

She added: "People don't necessarily throw it down in the centre, but it is carried in on the soles of people's shoes, and, unfortunately, people stick it in places such as the sides of lifts."

The Government estimates that it spent £150 million cleaning chewing gum off pavements in 2005, but independent analysts believe that the true cost could be three times this amount.

Said Miss Riley: "You can see why it costs so much. If you look down at the pavements in Bradford and other cities across the country most paving stones will have chewing gum on them."

The success of the project will be closely watched by Bradford Council, whose workers spend many hours removing gum from pavements in the city centre. Measures adopted so far to combat the problem include special boards where people can stick their used gum, and on-the-spot fines of £75 if caught dropping it.

Bob Parker, city centre manger for Bradford Council, said: "It sounds very interesting. Chewing gum is a huge problem for us. We will be monitoring the scheme to see how it goes. If it is successful we will think about taking it on board."

Added Miss Riley: "By and large, people want to do the right thing and if you give them a way of doing that it will be well received. We don't care how often we have to empty the bins because every bit is going to be recycled, it is not going to landfill."

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