IT is one of the top five litter items on Scotland's streets.

Now a Glasgow trial is hoping to clean up one of the City's stickiest issues and banish pavement gum for good.

Students are being asked to deposit used chewy in a new portable container made out of recycled chewing gum.

The Gumdrop on the Go bubbles are then deposited in a central dropbox and recycled to make a range of items including guitar plectrums and coffee cups.

Students from Glasgow University left their books behind yesterday to hand out bubbles with a team from Keep Scotland Beautiful and the Wrigley Company.

A prize is being offered for the best photo of a bubble being returned posted on instagram, the Gumdrop Facebook page, or tweeted using #givegumasecond life

Derek Robertson, chief executive at Keep Scotland Beautiful, said: "Gum dropped on the street is not only littering it also results in the stained appearance of our streets spoiling the look of local communities across Scotland, and costing a significant amount for local authorities and land managers to remove.

"With this trial, we will establish the benefits of using innovative design to encourage people to do the right thing and dispose of their gum responsibly.

"With this Gumdrop trial, students will have no excuse for irresponsibly dropping their gum on the street."

It is not clear how much Glasgow spends clearing up gum because the work is included in to its normal cleansing budget, but other local authorities say it costs 10p to remove each piece of gum.

Anna Bullus, founder and director for Gumdrop said: "We are excited to be working with Keep Scotland Beautiful and The Wrigley Company to bring Gumdrops to Glasgow.

"We look forward to the results of the trial."

Alexandra West, senior manager for corporate affairs, UK and Ireland, said: "Litter and gum litter spoil environments and we are pleased to work with organisations such as KSB and Gumdrop Ltd which bring exciting approaches to keeping Scotland's streets clean."

caroline.wilson@ eveningtimes.co.uk