Chewing gum producers invest £10m to reduce gum litter

The scheme, including Mars Wrigley, GlaxoSmithKline and Perfetti Van Melle and managed by independent charity Keep Britain Tidy, will see gum firms invest up to £10m over the next five years to help reduce gum litter.

Around 87% of England’s streets are stained with gum, according to research by Keep Britain Tidy. The annual clean-up cost is estimated at £7m.

The investment, starting later this year, will be used to clean up historic gum litter staining and use behavioural interventions to encourage people to bin their gum.

‘The stains of discarded chewing gum are a blight on our communities, spoiling our streets and wasting millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money,’ said environment minister Rebecca Pow.

‘This new scheme means chewing gum producers are not only helping to clean up towns and cities as they welcome people back to our high streets, but crucially taking action to prevent people littering in the first place.’

UK manufacturer’s powerful outdoor steam system GTS offers a solution to many challenging cleaning issues.

Affordable and Multifunctional

“Manufactured in stainless steel, and sitting on its bright yellow trolley mounted with a quality generator, this machine turns heads when it is operated around the streets of town centres. It is equally at home being used to tackle various cleaning tasks, such as, cleaning bins, signage, seating, doorways, bus shelters, fly poster removal and of course chewing gum removal. It’s got a great combination of user friendliness, reliability and robustness, can be operated by one person up to 8 hours during the working day.”

Steam is injected with the detergent as it is released from the cleaning head and the gum is instantly heated by the steam to 175/180°C. On chewing gum, the effect is dramatic. This combination of heat and biodegradable detergent removes the stickiness from the gum, which is simultaneously dissolved. Steam also keeps water wastage to a minimum, listed on DEFRA’s water saving technology list.

Excellent on external surfaces such as pavements, concrete and stone, the easy removal of the machine from the trolley allows the steam cleaning process suitable for internal flooring, carpets, upholstery and entrance mats and washrooms, a favourite for shopping malls. Because fresh sticky gum, although spat out onto the street, will always be trodden inside.

For more from Matrix Cleaning Systems, call Mike Osiadacz on 07866 917582, or visit www.matrixcleaningsystems.co.uk