In Japana small but significant detail on gum packaging could be the key to keeping the streets free of gum waste. According to a video shared by the user of TikTok @reptalivewhich shares the country’s curiosities through its profile, the packages of gum in Japan contain, in addition to the main product, a small paper notebook specifically designed to dispose of this candy in a hygienic and responsible manner.
This paper allows used gum to be wrapped before throwing it away, preventing consumers from throwing it directly on the ground or storing it awkwardly in their pockets. “In addition to the gum themselves, it carries a kind of notebook so that when you want to throw away the gum, you take out a page and wrap the gum with this. And this way you neither dirty the floor nor dirty your pocket. In fact, that red mark indicates that it has a piece of paper to store the gum,” he explains.
He guman everyday product that many consider harmless, represents a significant challenge both for the environment and for the cleanliness of cities, since it is mainly composed of non-biodegradable plastic materials. Originally, chewing gum was made from the sap of the tropical tree. Manilkara zapotaknown as chiclero or chicozapote, from which its name derives. However, currently, most of them are made with a neutral plastic base, such as polyvinyl acetate or xanthan gum, which makes chewing gum a waste that is difficult to recycle and highly harmful to the environment because it can take up to five years to degrade if not managed properly
Gum stuck on sidewalks not only creates a bad image, but also represents a considerable expense for municipalities, since cleaning them requires specialized machinery, such as pressure washers, pressurized water and solvents.
Furthermore, this problem directly affects citizens. Many people have experienced the annoyance of stepping on gum and facing the difficulty of removing it from their shoes. For those who use wheelchairs, the problem is even greater, since chewing gum can stick to the wheels and drive rims, creating unhealthy and complicated situations. They can also become sources of infection. Children playing in the streets, pets during their walks and even stray animals such as cats and birds are exposed to the risks posed by this waste.
For all these reasons, it is essential to place them in a trash can or in the gray container, while their packaging should go in the yellow container. This principle also applies to other waste, such as pipe shells, whose wrappers should be recycled in the yellow container, while the shells should go to the brown container intended for organic waste.
