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It is quite common to walk down the street and find gum stuck to the ground, but not only do we find them on the ground, but sometimes they can also be found in structures that are part of the public road, such as banks, traffic lights or walls. This is an aesthetic problem, but also a hygienic and, above all, an environmental one.
Have you ever wondered how long it takes for gum to degrade? Continue reading this interesting article by Green Ecologist in which the degradation time of chewing gum and other waste that can also become very polluting will be shown.
What is chewing gum made of?
The chewing gum ingredients they are soluble and insoluble. On the one hand, there are the insoluble ingredients that are the gum base and other components that provide the aroma. The rest of the ingredients are soluble, that is, they dissolve in water and among them are sweeteners, some flavors, polyols, sugar and glucose syrup. Perhaps all the ingredients mentioned are known and we have read them at some time on the labels of the containers of some food products, without a doubt the most complex ingredient in gum is gum base.
The gum base or chewing gum base is a substance that contains nutrients, insoluble and inert, which, as its name indicates, acts as a base for the edible and soluble part of the chewing gum, formed by the components that contribute to the flavor and the sugar. Therefore, gum base is made up of different raw materials that are classified into different types:
- Antioxidants: They are used to prevent the gum base and flavoring components from oxidizing.
- Elastomers: contribute to the elasticity of the rubber.
- Resins: they serve to soften and bind the compound.
- Fillings: thanks to these, a better texture is achieved.
- Plasticizers: they help a mixture resulting from the rubber to be homogeneous and soften the elastomer.
How long does chewing gum take to decompose?
Chewing gums have become an element that is part of our streets and infrastructures due to the irresponsibility of the consumer. Although it may seem that chewing gum has no impact on our environment, leaving it lying on any side (roads, subway stations, buses, walls …) has a visual impact, as well as being harmful to hygiene and the environment. In addition, it is important to mention that cleaning to remove these chewing gums is a significant economic investment, since it requires specialized techniques and machinery.
The need to do this cleaning well is because chewing gum takes 3-5 years to break down. If the gum is left stuck, it can only cause problems like those mentioned above. For example, it has been said that they cause hygiene problems because they attract large amounts of germs, according to some studies a single gum can contain up to 50,000 germs. Another important problem is that, the more time the gum spends in the area that has been deposited, the more it degrades it. Therefore, if the situation occurs in a natural environment in a short time that piece of soil is destroyed, apart from assuming a danger to animals and plants.
Where to throw the gum?
All these impacts and problems mentioned can be solved with the simple gesture of wrap the gum in paper, once you have finished chewing and deposit it in the trash can or container closer, since these cannot be recycled and they will have to go to a controlled waste dump. You can learn about these in this other post about What are landfills, types and consequences.
We also recommend reading this other article on What are the most difficult waste to recycle or manage, since chewing gum is among them but there are many more.
How long does it take for other wastes to degrade?
It has already been shown how long a chewing gum takes to decompose, then we will talk about degradation time of other residues.
- How long does it take to degrade an Apple: an apple degrades thanks to the action of decomposing organisms and environmental conditions, and it can take up to 6 months to degrade.
- How long does it take to degrade the plasticDepending on the type of plastic, this can take anywhere from 150 years, which is the time it takes for a plastic bag, up to 1000 years it takes for a PET bottle to disappear. If you want to know more about this topic, here you can expand this information on How long it takes for plastic to degrade.
- How long does it take to degrade paper: Paper basically made of cellulose takes up to 1 year to degrade. Here you can find out more about how long it takes for paper to degrade.
- How long does it take to degrade Glass: glass is a very resistant material composed mainly of silica sand, this material is one of those that remains for the longest time in nature, it takes to degrade from 4000 years to more than 5000. In this link you will see more about how long it takes to degrade the glass.
- How long does it take to degrade a tin: for a can thrown into the environment to degrade it needs a lot of rain and humidity so that it completely oxidizes and disappears. These take up to 10 years to disappear.
- How long does it take to degrade a cigarette butt: between 1 and two years is the time it takes for a cigarette butt to degrade, these end up being one of the main pollutants in water bodies.
- How long does it take to degrade a batteryWhen batteries are no longer useful, they must be taken to a clean point to be treated properly, since, if they are left lying in the middle, they lose their protective role due to degradation, they release metals and end up contaminating the environment where they were spins. It takes 500 to 1000 years for a pile to completely decompose.
We also advise you to consult this other article with more complete information on How long it takes for waste to degrade.
If you want to read more articles similar to How long does chewing gum take to degrade?, we recommend that you enter our Recycling and waste management category.
Bibliography- Ávila, M. Cleaning of the public highway. Removal of chewing gum residues from the road. End of Degree Project. Degree in Industrial Technologies Engineering. 2014: 10-11.
