Did it stick to the sole? And now? How to correctly dispose of your gum?

Find out the most appropriate way to dispose of your gum

gum stuck to the sole

Everyone has chewed gum at least once in their life. Some don't like it because they believe it's bad, others can't go a day without chewing one, there's even anticavity gum. But for any of these cases, the question remains, how to properly dispose of it?

What is gum?

Before answering this question, let's take a look at what our question object actually is. The first chewing gums, made from resins extracted from trees, have existed since antiquity. The treat as we know it today was born in 1872, when the American inventor Thomas Adams manufactured a batch of ball-shaped gums from natural resins flavored with licorice extract. In the following decades, the sweet became popular and several factories were opened for its production.

In the mid-20th century, natural resins were replaced by substances synthesized from petroleum refining, in order to reduce costs, since natural resins were much more expensive. Its composition is usually a trade secret, but it basically consists of elastomers, resins, waxes, fats and emulsifiers, calcium carbonate and antioxidants. The gum's decomposition time is five years. During this time, it begins to be destroyed by exposure to sunlight and oxygen in the air, which makes it lose its elasticity and viscosity. Check out how the gum is produced in the video.

How to properly dispose of your gum

Knowing how to dispose of gum correctly still intrigues a lot of people. Myth or folklore, some claim that the best thing to do is throw it on the asphalt. It would make sense, even because the composition of that type of floor is similar to that of chewing gum (both petroleum derivatives). Not to mention that, on the black stones, it will suffer exposure to sunlight and friction from vehicles, processes that contribute to its decomposition.

Anyway, the best thing is to throw the gum in the non-recyclable garbage can. Thus, it will end up in the landfill where its impact is controlled. By throwing your gum on the asphalt, you help with the visual pollution of your city, in addition to the risk of "fooling" the next person who passes by by giving them the chance to win a dirty gum stuck to the sole of the shoe. The best thing would be to collect it for recycling, as it is possible to transform it into raw material for the manufacture of tires and resins. Unfortunately, so far, there are no specific collection points for this material in Brazil.

Other reflections would still be possible about the consumption of this type of product. One of them is the basic issue of being made from petroleum, another one of the countless products whose composition is based on this substance that seems omnipresent in our daily lives. In other words, oil in its chewable "mode", yet another way to justify the extraction of carbon from the earth's subsoil to the surface...

What is made for the world?

Due to pollution and damage to public property, the sale of this product in Singapore has been prohibited since 2004. The thing there was so bad that if someone is caught throwing gum on the ground, they will be fined in the amount of US$ 500.

In the UK, especially London, the impact of gum thrown on asphalt is very evident - London once had around 92% of its pavement covered with gum, according to journalist Tim Adams. To reduce the cost of removing this material (more than £150 million was spent in 2011), the government has placed several specific dumps spread across 12 different cities, with the aim of recycling the material, transforming it into tyres, toys and hoods. cell phone.

Another creative solution was created by the artist Ben Wilson, who paints the gum around the city of London. Below you can see some images of this artist's work.

Piece of art with gumPiece of art with gumPiece of art with gum



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