Hundreds of tonnes of plastic air pollution may very well be escaping into the atmosphere yearly … from our mouths. Most chewing gum on sale is comprised of a wide range of oil-based artificial rubbers – much like the plastic materials utilized in automobile tyres.
In case you discover that thought barely unsettling, you aren’t alone. I’ve been researching and talking concerning the plastic air pollution downside for 15 years. The folks I discuss to are all the time shocked, and disgusted, once they discover out they’ve been chewing on a lump of malleable plastic. Most producers simply don’t promote what gum is definitely product of – they dodge across the element by itemizing “gum base” within the elements.
There’s no strict definition of artificial gum base. Chewing gum model, Wrigley Further companions with dental professionals all over the world to advertise the usage of sugar-free chewing gum to enhance oral well being.
The model’s Wrigley Oral Well being Program states that: “Gum base puts the “chew” in chewing gum, binding all of the elements collectively for a clean, gentle texture. We use artificial gum base supplies for a constant and secure base that gives longer-lasting flavour, improved texture, and decreased tackiness.“
It nearly sounds innocent. However chemical evaluation exhibits that gum incorporates styrene-butadiene (the sturdy artificial chemical used to make automobile tyres), polyethylene (the plastic used to make service baggage and bottles) and polyvinyl acetate (woodglue) in addition to some sweetener and flavouring.
The chewing gum trade is huge enterprise, price an estimated US$48.68 billion (£37.7 billion) in 2025. Three firms personal 75% of the market share, the most important of which is Wrigley, with an estimated 35%. There are few dependable statistics accessible concerning the quantity of gum being produced, however one peer-reviewed world estimate states 1.74 trillion items are made per yr.
I examined a number of varieties of gum and located that the commonest weight of a person piece of gum is 1.4g – that implies that globally, a staggering 2.436 million tonnes of gum are produced annually. A couple of third (30%) of that weight, or simply over 730,000 tonnes, is artificial gum base.
If the thought of chewing plastic isn’t disturbing sufficient, think about what occurs after you spit it out. Most individuals have skilled discarded gum beneath bench seats, faculty desks and on avenue pavements. However, like different plastics, artificial chewing gum doesn’t biodegrade and might persist within the atmosphere for a few years.
Within the atmosphere it can harden, crack and breakdown into microplastics however this may take many years. Cleansing it up will not be low cost as a result of it’s labour intensive. The typical value is £1.50 per sq. metre and estimates recommend that the annual clean-up value for chewing gum air pollution for councils within the UK is round £7 million.
There have been some efforts to deal with the issue. In lots of public places across the UK, gum assortment pots provided by Dutch firm Gumdrop Ltd have been put in to gather and recycle used gum. Signage offered by councils encouraging accountable disposal can be now a daily characteristic in some UK excessive streets, and there’s a rising variety of small producers providing plant-based alternate options.
Within the UK, the environmental charity Preserve Britain Tidy launched the chewing gum activity pressure in 2021. This collaboration includes three main producers who’ve dedicated to investing as much as £10 million with a view to clear up “historic gum staining and altering behaviour in order that extra folks bin their gum”.
However, right here lies the crux of the difficulty.
The primary goal implies that cleansing up gum is an answer to this type of plastic air pollution; it isn’t. Producers making a monetary contribution to clean-up efforts is like plastic producers paying for litter pickers and bin baggage at volunteer seashore cleans. Neither addresses the basis explanation for the issue.
Cleansing up chewing gum litter includes steam cleansing.
Kathy deWitt / Alamy Inventory Picture
Binning gum will not be the answer both. Addressing gum as a plastic pollutant dictates that the prevention of gum air pollution ought to embody the well-known tenets, like all plastic air pollution, of cut back, reuse, recycle and redesign. It isn’t solely a disposal problem.
One other problem that I’ve uncovered is definition. Within the two annual studies revealed by the gum litter activity pressure since its inception, there isn’t any point out of the phrase air pollution. The excellence between litter and air pollution is essential. By calling it chewing gum air pollution, the narrative adjustments from a person negligence problem to a company one. That locations an onus for accountability onto the producers reasonably than the customers.
Single-use options
Like single-use plastic objects, chewing gum air pollution must be tackled from all angles – schooling, discount, alternate options, innovation, producer accountability, and laws.
Educating folks concerning the contents of gum and the environmental penalties these elements have will cut back consumption and encourage higher disposal habits. Extra clear labelling on packaging would empower consumers to make knowledgeable selections. Stricter laws can maintain producers to account – a levy tax on artificial gum will help pay for clear ups. In flip, this is able to incentivise extra funding in plant-based gums and different sustainable alternate options.
We will all cut back the environmental penalties of this plastic air pollution by kicking the gum behavior, calling on councils to implement stricter air pollution penalties and inspiring governments to place a tax levy on producers to fund clear ups and pressure them to listing the contents of gum base.
Throwing away any non-disposable, inorganic merchandise is unsustainable. Chewing gum air pollution is simply one other type of plastic air pollution. It’s time we begin treating it as such.
