Did you know that gum is the second most common form of litter on the streets following cigarettes? You’ll never realize it until you pay attention to the underside of tables, park benches, bus seats, and other public areas. It’s probably a baby step for future vandals (or not).
These unassuming but ubiquitous pieces of sugar some people are addicted to (it was found in some studies that gum helps with concentration issues) are inherently bad for the environment, too, according to Modest Fish, a website on fish and everything about these aquatic animals.
This is because it’s actually made of polymers, a non-biodegradable synthetic plastic, which costs $2 million to collect and dispose of annually. What’s worse is that littered gum can be included in the food chain as fish ingest some of it.
Although there are biodegradable gums for those who can’t give up them just yet, be it for health reasons or not, they’re not readily available in the market like Chicza and Glee Gum. These are organic and sustainable gums harvested from the chicozapote tree in the Mayan forest. They’re mostly available just in the U.S.
Some easy alternatives for gums, too, are mint leaves and fennel seeds. The latter was mostly chewed after a meal to improve digestion, soothe indigestion and reduce heartburn and gas.
Featured image courtesy of Unsplash
Read more:
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Are you stuffing your ecobricks right?
Green footnotes for sustainable traveling
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Writer: YAZHMIN MALAJITO
