You May Be Horrified When You Learn What Chewing Gum Is Actually Made From

A researcher has identified a surprising source of plastic pollution: chewing gum. In an essay for The Conversation, microplastics expert David Jones of the UK's University of Portsmouth revealed that most modern chewing gum contains "a variety of oil-based synthetic rubbers," akin to the stuff that car tires are made of — which is not only going into our bodies, but also the environment upon being spat out. Mysteriously, Wrigley, the maker of "Double Mint" gum and the world's largest manufacturer of the chewy stuff, refuses to name what exactly goes into its products. On the page for its oral health program, the company says only that its synthetic base binds "all the ingredients together for a smooth, soft texture." As Jones explained, a 2014 chemical analysis by the University of Arkansas revealed what Wrigley and other gum-makers would not: that sticks of chewing gum can contain everything from styrene-butadiene, which is what tires are made of; polyethylene, the chemical used f ... Read full article.