The new Gumpak™ chewing gum removal system is making a big impact in the Cleaning and Waste Management world
October 1st 2011

With chewing gum blighting the surfaces of most towns, cities and urban spaces around the world, there have been some extreme measures taken to try and tackle the problem. From outright bans on chewing gum in Singapore to millions of pounds spent on developing a chewing gum that does not stick quite as badly when discarded. But still the problem persists

Keep Britain Tidy reports that gum is found at 50% of sites in the UK.With an average cost for a town of £20,000 to remove discarded gum it is clear that this sticky problem needs a serious solution to compliment the educational efforts of organizations such as Keep Britain Tidy and the Chewing Gum Action Group.

The owners of Gumpak Limited have been removing chewing gum from the UK's urban surfaces for over seven years. Their experience has been gained in traditional chewing gum removal methods including high-pressure washing and the more environmentally friendly steam cleaning.

Martin Whitbread, sales director, Gumpak says: "We could not continue with the high pressure washing as it is very unfriendly to the environment as the process uses high volumes of water and the engines burn lots of fuel. There was also the problem of gum being blown off the surface and re-sticking or worse still clogging up the drains and causing flooding.

"We quickly moved on to steam machines,which have much better environmental credentials and destroy the discarded gum with the use of a chemical additive.The issues we encountered with using steam machines are that they require a separate power source.

The vehicle based generator or portable generators are noisy and therefore make working at nighttime impossible and cause a disturbance to the public during the day. Also working in public places with trailing power cables and leads is a health and safety risk." The Gumpak Solution: The design of the Gumpak™ chewing gum removal system has led to a worldwide patent and the ultimate answer to the problem of discarded chewing gum, which blights our urban spaces, schools and public transport systems.

The Gumpak™ lance is made from British built carbon fiber and houses a unique flash boiler system, powered by LPG.

Gumpak limited have created a new, environmentally friendly chewing gum removal chemical which is made, using only renewable materials and is based on a sugar surfactant, rather than the traditional oil base which further increases the environmental credentials.

The operative wears the high visibility rucksack, which contains the fuel and chemical,weighing in at less than 8kg.

The result of the Gumpak™ has constantly surprised those involved in the cleaning and waste management industry worldwide.

The Gumpak™ completely destroys gum on a molecular level in just a few seconds! The Gumpak™ chewing gum removal system is a product that needs no generator or separate power source,making it ideal for a system used almost exclusively in public areas. With no trailing electrical leads or high pressure hoses the Gumpak™ allows the operative to work at any location and at any time, night or day in almost silence.This has eliminated all of the big health and safety and noise risks that have plagued the industry since its inception.

It's hard to believe the speed in which the Gumpak™ has been designed and put into production.The Gumpak™ system was designed at the beginning of this year by the Gumpak team and is now in full production.Martin Whitbread explains why:"The Gumpak™ was designed by us out of necessity really.We found steam machines to be so unreliable. Regardless of the model we bought they constantly broke down,were temperamental and cost us much time when trying to remove gum.

The Gumpak™ does not need a generator for its power as we have designed an innovative flash boiler system housed in the lance, powered by LPG.The new environmentally friendly gum removal solution destroys the gum, leaving the surface completely gum free.

With no trailing leads or generators the Gumpak™ can be used anytime and any place without the traditional issues associated with steam machines." Gumpak and Keep Britain Tidy: Gumpak Limited has recently signed the first ever commercial agreement for a gum removal business with Keep Britain Tidy (KBT).

Discussions began with the inception of the Gumpak™ chewing gum removal system in early 2011 after the Gumpak team was noticed by KBT. With no trailing electrical leads or high pressure hoses the Gumpak™ allows the operative to work at any location and at any time, night or day in almost silence.This has eliminated all of the big health and safety and noise risks that have plagued the industry since its inception.

It's hard to believe the speed in which the Gumpak™ has been designed and put into production.The Gumpak™ system was designed at the beginning of this year by the Gumpak team and is now in full production.Martin Whitbread explains why:"The Gumpak™ was designed by us out of necessity really.We found steam machines to be so unreliable. Regardless of the model we bought they constantly broke down,were temperamental and cost us much time when trying to remove gum.

The Gumpak™ does not need a generator for its power as we have designed an innovative flash boiler system housed in the lance, powered by LPG.The new environmentally friendly gum removal solution destroys the gum, leaving the surface completely gum free.

With no trailing leads or generators the Gumpak™ can be used anytime and any place without the traditional issues associated with steam machines."

Gumpak and Keep Britain Tidy: Gumpak Limited has recently signed the first ever commercial agreement for a gum removal business with Keep Britain Tidy (KBT).

Discussions began with the inception of the Gumpak™ chewing gum removal system in early 2011 after the Gumpak team was noticed by KBT.

Phil Barton, chief executive said:"Keep Britain Tidy is proud to support Gumpak in their battle to remove chewing gum from our streets.We share their ambitions of tackling this problem across the UK and internationally through leadership, partnerships and building personal responsibility.We are supporting this revolutionary,newpatented British invention because together we can help to make our towns and cities significantly cleaner and greener places, respected and enjoyed by all.

The Gumpak solution removes gum quickly, uses less water, is far less disruptive than many other techniques and requires fewer resources.

We are delighted that Gumpak is supporting Keep Britain Tidy and our Love Where You Live campaign,and we will continue to work together to create gum-free towns." Managing director, Jared Barding proudly says: "This agreement is the result of much hard work from the teams at KBT and Gumpak.We believe that the Gumpak™ system is already revolutionising the way gum is removed from urban surfaces worldwide with a raft of success stories being reported.

We feel humbled to have a unique and special relationship with an organization with such a rich history of environmental excellence in the UK. We are looking forward to playing our part in tackling the problem of gum litter in the UK and Internationally." Chartered Institute of Waste Management Awards: To further cement the growing reputation of Gumpak Limited, they have been shortlisted for an award at this year's CIWM environmental excellence awards being held in London this November.

The award category Gumpak has been shortlisted for demands that a business "approach an issue through original thinking and demonstrate the successful outcome that their innovative solution has had." Jared Brading comments:"although it sounds like a cliché, it really is an honour to be selected for an award hosted by such a prestigious organisation, the CIWM awards are the Oscars of the waste industry in our opinion.We have been overwhelmed with the positive response to the Gumpak™ gum removal system since its launch in 2011.

Gumpak Limited is getting stuck into the chewing gum problem internationally with the Gumpak™ system.

Orders have been despatched to Australia, Japan, Greece, Spain, Malta, Ireland, Canada and the UK in October. Its no wonder the Gumpak team is calling it a revolution in gum removal.

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