In preliminary trials, developers chewed the gum - which comes in both mint and lemon avours - for 20 minutes and then stuck it onto paving slabs. Two days later, they found that rain had washed away the gum, but the cuds of traditional chewing gum they had placed as controls remained stuck to the surface.

A second test on the gum suggests that it will disintegrate if left in A second test on the gum suggests that it will disintegrate if left in water for a few months - which could mean it would naturally disap-pear from surfaces over time. Cosgrove's team placed a regular piece of gum in a container of water and their non-stick gum in another con-tainer. After seven weeks, the traditional gum remained intact, but the Rev7 gum had broken into small fragments resembling the snow akes inside a "snowglobe".

Cosgrove has now helped start a company, called Revolymer, to market the non-stick product, now called "Clean Gum", and hopes it will become available in 2008. "It has a good chew and it certainly holds together in the mouth," he says of the product, which he presented at the BA Festival of Science in York, UK, this week.

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What are you doing to help solve the problem of gum disposal?

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GU

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P. 1: CoverP. 2/3: ContentP. 4/5: Map with original illustrationsP. 6/7: Article 1: Interview.P. 8/9: Article 1: Interview cont.P. 10/11: Article 2P. 12/13: Article 2 cont.P. 12/13: Article 2 cont.P. 14 Back

CONTENTS

LOS ANGELESA map of Los Angeles county and concentrated areas of gum liter.

WAS

TE

WAS

TE Carelessly discarded chewing gum becomes trodden into our streets and pavements. Once trodden in gum is extremely difficult and costly to remove. It makes paved areas look grimy, dirty and generally

degrades an area.The most effective way to tackle problems created by the irresponThe most effective way to tackle problems created by the irrespon-sible disposalof gum is to stop people from dropping it in the first place. This can be achieved through a combination of campaigning,

education and enforcement.Chewing gum is not like other forms of litter in that it cannot be easily

removed. Manufacturers must take responsibility for the problems that their product causes by promoting a strong, anti-littering

message and supporting public awareness campaigns. Manufacturers must also make every effort to alter the properties of gum by

reducing the length of time for which it persists and making it easier for local authorities to clean up.

Los Angeles does not support a tax on gum because, at present, there Los Angeles does not support a tax on gum because, at present, there is no evidence to suggest that it would solve the problems created by its irresponsible disposal. It may even indirectly cause other problems.

WAS

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Sticky Streets

Anderson Cooper

Sticky Streets

Anderson Cooper

In preliminary trials, developers chewed the gum - which comes in both mint and lemon avours - for 20 minutes and then stuck it onto paving slabs. Two days later, they found that rain had washed away the gum, but the cuds of traditional chewing gum they had placed as controls remained stuck to the surface.

A second test on the gum suggests that it will disintegrate if left in A second test on the gum suggests that it will disintegrate if left in water for a few months - which could mean it would naturally disap-pear from surfaces over time. Cosgrove's team placed a regular piece of gum in a container of water and their non-stick gum in another con-tainer. After seven weeks, the traditional gum remained intact, but the Rev7 gum had broken into small fragments resembling the snow akes inside a "snowglobe".

Cosgrove has now helped start a company, called Revolymer, to market the non-stick product, now called "Clean Gum", and hopes it will become available in 2008. "It has a good chew and it certainly holds together in the mouth," he says of the product, which he presented at the BA Festival of Science in York, UK, this week.

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In preliminary trials, developers chewed the gum - which comes in both mint and lemon avours - for 20 minutes and then stuck it onto paving slabs. Two days later, they found that rain had washed away the gum, but the cuds of traditional chewing gum they had placed as controls remained stuck to the surface.

A second test on the gum suggests that it will disintegrate if left in A second test on the gum suggests that it will disintegrate if left in water for a few months - which could mean it would naturally disap-pear from surfaces over time. Cosgrove's team placed a regular piece of gum in a container of water and their non-stick gum in another con-tainer. After seven weeks, the traditional gum remained intact, but the Rev7 gum had broken into small fragments resembling the snow akes inside a "snowglobe".

Cosgrove has now helped start a company, called Revolymer, to market the non-stick product, now called "Clean Gum", and hopes it will become available in 2008. "It has a good chew and it certainly holds together in the mouth," he says of the product, which he presented at the BA Festival of Science in York, UK, this week.

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What are you doing to help solve the problem of gum disposal?

Gum litter is an issue in many markets and is leading to growing concern among consumers and governments. Although we recognise that people are responsible for the disposal of their own litter, we emphasise the need to educate the consumer about responsible disposal. We have introduced a gum disposal message on all our packaging, including advertising and point of packaging, including advertising and point of

sale material as a means of supporting consumer education about responsible disposal.

If someone throws a piece of litter on the ground, that action affects everyone around - it tarnishes the environment and makes things un-pleasant. People need to take personal responsi-bility for keeping our streets clean and tidy and that includes gum. We have heard of suggestions

to tax gum but we do not think this is the answer. There is one simple solution - put it in

the bin. We care about the environment and so we put reminders on all of our packaging worldwide

to remind people about disposing their gum properly. We are also investing in science to try to create non-stick or biodegradable gum. In real-ity, this is a public education issue about litter

and responsible behaviour.

In preliminary trials, developers chewed the gum - which comes in both mint and lemon avours - for 20 minutes and then stuck it onto paving slabs. Two days later, they found that rain had washed away the gum, but the cuds of traditional chewing gum they had placed as controls remained stuck to the surface.

A second test on the gum suggests that it will disintegrate if left in A second test on the gum suggests that it will disintegrate if left in water for a few months - which could mean it would naturally disap-pear from surfaces over time. Cosgrove's team placed a regular piece of gum in a container of water and their non-stick gum in another con-tainer. After seven weeks, the traditional gum remained intact, but the Rev7 gum had broken into small fragments resembling the snow akes inside a "snowglobe".

Cosgrove has now helped start a company, called Revolymer, to market the non-stick product, now called "Clean Gum", and hopes it will become available in 2008. "It has a good chew and it certainly holds together in the mouth," he says of the product, which he presented at the BA Festival of Science in York, UK, this week.

11

What are you doing to help solve the problem of gum disposal?

13

In preliminary trials, developers chewed the gum - which comes in both mint and lemon avours - for 20 minutes and then stuck it onto paving slabs. Two days later, they found that rain had washed away the gum, but the cuds of traditional chewing gum they had placed as controls remained stuck to the surface.

A second test on the gum suggests that it will disintegrate if left in A second test on the gum suggests that it will disintegrate if left in water for a few months - which could mean it would naturally disap-pear from surfaces over time. Cosgrove's team placed a regular piece of gum in a container of water and their non-stick gum in another con-tainer. After seven weeks, the traditional gum remained intact, but the Rev7 gum had broken into small fragments resembling the snow akes inside a "snowglobe".

Cosgrove has now helped start a company, called Revolymer, to market the non-stick product, now called "Clean Gum", and hopes it will become available in 2008. "It has a good chew and it certainly holds together in the mouth," he says of the product, which he presented at the BA Festival of Science in York, UK, this week.

11

What are you doing to help solve the problem of gum disposal?

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