![]() There are two main companies that will take your chewed up gum: If you want to recycle your gum correctly, you’ll need to go through some specialized services. No, that’s just going to cause problems for everyone. Gum can absolutely be recycled, though not the way you might be thinking.Įven though it’s made from plastics and rubbers, you can’t just toss your gum into your recycling bin and call it a day. ![]() But if you are looking to get your gum fix in and want to do better for the environment, these are all excellent alternatives. Now, a quick disclaimer: all-natural, biodegradable gum is not going to have the same texture as traditional gum, nor is it going to last as long (obviously). They also serve their gum in biodegradable packaging. The base is now made of chicle, calcium carbonate, candelilla (plant) wax, and citrus peels. Glee Gum originally did not serve biodegradable gum, but they recently made the switch to having a plastic-free gum base. Their gum is made of organic evaporated cane juice, organic gum base (100% Chicle), organic glucose, organic agave syrup, and organic flavor. They created a gum that only contains only vegetable glycerine, raw sugar, organic rice flour, and natural flavoring.Ĭhicza is a company that harvests their gum from Chicozapote trees, which naturally and continuously produce gum for 300 years. Simply Gum is a company that was sickened by the thought of chewing on the same plastics found in car tires, plastic bottles, and white glue. Thankfully, there are a few options out there for people who are looking to switch to biodegradable gum. That’s how much it negatively impacted the cities, towns, environments, and people.Īnd if you are curious, it costs the UK £56 million to clean it all up every year. It was so bad that Singapore banned the sale of chewing gum in 1992. These will eventually become toxins, which can cause additional health problems for the survivors.įinally, we are going to indirectly suffer too! That’s because when we eat animals and fish, those toxins are reintroduced into our bodies. Second, the survivors who continue to eat gum will have those synthetic polymers accumulate over time. It wasn’t designed for birds or squirrels to eat, after all. If too much gum is consumed at once, it’s possible for internal blockages to screw up an animal’s insides and even prevent it from eating/drinking anything. That’s plenty of time for animals and fish to get a piece of that gum, which presents a whole new set of problems.įirst, the gum can just outright kill an unsuspecting animal. Like mentioned earlier, gum may last centuries. Not only does it make schools and cities look grubby (and who doesn’t just love to step on it), but it also has a pretty awful effect on the environment. 80-90% of all chewed gum is used to litter our sidewalks, walls, desks, playgrounds, forests, beaches, and so much more. It’s the second BIGGEST source of global waste, only beaten by cigarette butts. That number doesn’t take any other litter into account it’s all just gum. Here’s a (not so) fun fact! 100,000 tons of litter is caused by improperly disposed of gum. Yes, your gum is actually pretty terrible for the environment. Is Chewing Gum Really That Bad For The Environment? So when you pass by that piece of gum on the street, you’ll now know that it could stay there 15-25 generations later. While nobody knows for certain how long it takes for gum to fully decompose, it’s generally safe to assume that it could take at least 500 years. The materials found in the chewing gum are no different. ![]() Plastic just takes forever to fully biodegrade. Paraffin (via the Fischer-Tropsch process)Īs you may or may not already know, it can take 450 years for plastic water bottles to decompose and up to 1,000 years for plastic bags.Isobutylene-isoprene copolymer (butyl rubber).Here are some of the polymers that your gum probably contains: You are chewing on rubber, plastic, sweeteners, and water-absorbent powder (which is potentially concerning health-wise). The problem with gum is that it’s made from a host of synthetic plastics and rubbers. In fact, it can take a very, very long time for gum to fully break down. Gum is definitely not considered biodegradable. The long answer is a little more interesting.
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