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Gum-busters come to town
Hi-tech gum-busting machines have started work on a town's streets.
Two machines each worth 26,000 are being used on the streets of Wellingborough in the latest bid to beat the problem of discarded chewing gum.
It means gum that would have once been left on the pavement for weeks can now be cleared up in seconds thanks to the machine's high-power suction.
It will also mean that Wellingborough Council, which bought the machines, can clean graffiti to help meet tough new targets for cleaning up abusive artwork.
Head of environmental services John Casserly said: "These vehicles will greatly improve our ability to respond to street-cleansing needs more efficiently and effectively."
Cllr Malcolm Waters, chairman of the community committee which pushed for the purchase of the machines, said: "The machines will complement our current cleansing operations and will result in improvements to the environmental quality of our neighbourhood."
The machines were put at the top of Wellingborough Council's shopping list as the debate about litter problems in the town intensified.
The Evening Telegraph had reported several hotspots for litter in the town, with town centre manager David Cross criticising the number of cigarette ends outside the Swansgate shopping centre.
Residents had also complained about at litter on the A45, where lorries swept past and blew cans and crisp packets all over the road.
Meanwhile, the council had prepared a graffiti removal policy which gave members of the public assurances that offensive or racist graffiti would be cleared within one working day.
It also advocates that offenders should be asked to clean up their own mess and that graffiti should be managed by letting some people create outdoor murals.
The new machines, which can clean small alleys and large parking lots, will help the council's bid to improve the environment by saving environmental officers time which they can spend helping the town meet other green credentials.
Heidi Williamson-Wall, of Malvern Close, Wellingborough, said: "I don't know what the solution to this litter problem is.
"These environmental issues are very important. The people who do graffiti are not ones who are going to be cleaning it up."
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Weather for Kettering
Thursday 09 February 2012
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Temperature: -1 C to 1 C
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