Yet Another Great Invention to Save the World- The Gum Pouch
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 03. 3.06
-London's Oxford Street is peppered with over 300,000 pieces of chewing gum.
-It takes 17 weeks to remove chewing gum from Oxford Street, but only 10 days for the street to be covered in gum again.
-A piece of chewing gum costs about 3p, but costs 10p to remove from the street.
Not to mention, in many areas of the UK there is a 50 Pound fine for littering with chewing gum. The answer, of course, is not to educate people to dispose of gum properly (like under seats and tables where it is supposed to be) but to sell the Gum Pouch- "a pocketsize anti litter pouch for the convenient disposal of chewing gum while on the move. From only 78p, the Gum Pouch makes a low-cost, preventative solution for reducing gum litter and saving public money." ::Butts & Gum thanks tipster Bonnie!
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another 0p solution is the wrapper that the gum came in, or the garbage cans that line the street. It takes more energy to fumble through your purse/pocket for the gum pouch -then empty it later, than it does to find a garbage can a few steps away. Sorry to be negative on this one, I am just not seeing the benefit.
Option 1: make gum reflect its social cost, i.e. a gum tax to offset the cost to clean the street.
Option 2: create chewing gum that biodegrades faster. Does it really make sense to create a gum that lasts for weeks after its been spit out?
Gum has been in the news Michigan, too. A 12-year old stuck his unloved gum on a $1.5 million dollar painting at the Detroit Institute of Arts recently. Looks like the painting is going to be ok. The youngster contrite.
A quick google yielded a discussion of corn-based chewing gum and a patent by Wrigley: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=biodegradable+gum
what about the gum pouch litter?
I will support baloghblog on this: either use the gum wrapper or a small piece of (toilet) paper. Costs much less.
Then again, I never understood why one needed to spit the gum onto the street from the beginning...
How about people throw it in the garbage. How lazy do you have to be to not keep it in your moutn till you see a garbage can. Or maybe, use a kleenex, crumpled up piece of paper from your pocket or purse, that was going to the garbage anyways.
CHEWING GUM is sick. how can anyone eat it? its not even nice. you cant walk anywhere in a town and not see it on the floor or under a school table. it should be banned. if not it should be really expensive so people wont buy it and the extra money can be spent on removing it from the pavements so that people paying tax dont have to pay for it. how hard is it to put your rubbish in the bin.
how do i get a free pink chewing gum pouch. please email me back asap thank you vry much x
Whenever there is a suggestion of a chewing gum tax in the world, Wrigleys throw money adnauseum to quash it. Environmentally friendly agencies who receive sponsorship from Wrigleys, refuse to include chewing gum litter in criteria for awards. Why is discarded chewing gum not acknowledged as litter by most councils in Australia? Gum is classed as a food product in which bacteria thrives, it should be removed immediately.