Most of us are used to hearing how microplastics are literally permeating every aspect of our daily lives. From the water we drink to the clothes we wear, it seems microplastics and plastics are everywhere.
But one thing you probably have not thought about is whether your favourite chewing gum contains plastic.
Many brands of chewing gum contain an ingredient called “gum base” which can contain synthetic materials such as polyethylene and polyvinyl acetate.
Campaigners have argued consumers deserve to be fully informed about the chewing gum products they are consuming and are entitled to plastic-free alternatives.
The charity City to Sea has teamed up with plastic-free chewing gum company Nuud for a new campaign, which urges the U.K. government to ban plastic chewing gum.
According to the charity, the U.K. consumes approximately four billion pieces of plastic gum annually, equivalent to four billion plastic straws.
And each day, the U.K. chews and discards 12 tons of gum, which is the equivalent weight of a bus.
Nuud found Keir Carnie said there is around a “drinking-straws worth of single-use plastic hidden” in every single piece of regular chewing gum in an interview.
Carnie said the same chemical ingredients in gum base can also be found in shampoo bottles, carrier bags and glue.
“Your average gum chewer is unknowingly chewing on a big blob of plastic,” Carnie told me.
“Microplastics have also been linked to some of humanity’s worst diseases and plastic gum can also be found stuck to many of our pavements and will ultimately go into landfill or be pressure washed off the streets into smaller particles that are eventually going down a drain and getting back into the water systems.”
City to Sea chief executive Jane Martin said every chew is like biting into a plastic straw in a statement.
“It breaks down into microplastics that are inhaled, ingested, and absorbed into our bodies. Scientific evidence links this to obesity, fertility issues and cancer,” added Martin.
“It’s time for the U.K. to take the final stand against plastic gum and pollution for the health of people and the planet.”
Sian Sutherland, the co-founder of A Plastic Planet and the Plastic Health Council said if consumers were better informed about the thousands of chemicals found in most chewing gum, they would never let it touch their lips in an email.
Sutherland added consumers should be “outraged” that chewing gum containing plastic is often marketed towards children, when alternatives are available.
But Tom Raviv, the founder of another plastic-free gum brand, Milliways said while he applauds the new campaign, he believes infrastructure and raw materials are not currently there to support an outright ban in an interview.
In the past, Raviv said he has recommended the U.K. government introduce a plastic tax on chewing gum manufacturers that use petroleum-based plastics in their ingredients instead.
He has also recommended scrapping the 20% VAT added to plant-based chewing gum in the U.K.
“What we’re all trying to do is highlight the fact that so much plastic gum ends up in rivers, oceans, and our bodies in the form of microplastics and nanoplastics,” he told me.
“We would like to see the entire sector achieve biodegradability and 100% biobased certifications in line with international guidelines, as Milliways has done,” said Raviv.
“This will give consumers and retailers added comfort of what they’re buying and selling. I believe lawmakers should require this at a minimum if brands will be making this claim.”
Rachel Watkyn, the founder of the packaging business Tiny Box Company said even when chewing gum is disposed of properly, plastic chewing gum lingers indefinitely in landfills, in an email.
Watkyn added to make matters worse, most gum is packaged in additional layers of plastic, adding even more damage to the environment.
“With every piece of gum chewed and discarded, we are unknowingly contributing to the spread of plastic pollution—it’s a sorry state of affairs and one of which isn’t widely known about amongst the U.K population,” said Watkyn.
