New gum busting machine unveiled in Brighton and Hove
A new piece of equipment which can remove up to 100,000 pieces of chewing gum a day from the pavement has been unveiled in Brighton.
Brighton and Hove City Council said it could clear about 200m (656ft) of pavement an hour.
It hopes the equipment, which cost £123,000. will help reduce its £25,000 annual gum cleaning bill.
It is estimated that it takes up to five years for chewing gum to degrade.
'Sticky gum stains'
Council leader Mary Mears said: "I'm declaring war on the dreadful blight of chewing gum discarded on our city's streets.
"I want visitors to Brighton & Hove to be greeted by sparkling clean pavements, not by the unpleasant sight of sticky gum stains.
"By investing in this machine we hope to rescue our beautiful urban landscape from this menace.
"But we also need residents and visitors to help by putting chewing gum in the bin rather than throwing it on the ground."
The authority said previously contractors were cleaning up to 2.2 million pieces of gum a year from more 48,000 square metres (157,480 square feet) of pavement.