Non-Stick Chewing Gum

October 23, 2007

A non-stick chewing gum may eliminate some major cleaning headaches.

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Transcript

BOB HIRSHON (host):
Taking the stick out of a stick of gum. I’m Bob Hirshon and this is Science Update.

A chewing gum that won’t stick to shoes, hair, or pavement may soon be coming to a store near you. It’s made by a British company called Revolymer, spun off from the University of Bristol. CEO Roger Pettman says they’ve replaced sticky ingredients found in regular gum with a polymer that easily detaches from surfaces. They’ve field-tested it on a number of surfaces, including real city sidewalks.

ROGER PETTMAN (Revolymer):
As soon as it rains, our chewing gum is simply washed away. And in three out of four cases, the commercial gums just remained there.

HIRSHON:
They also found that the gum actually dissolves in water over several weeks – which may curb the impact of chewing gum litter. Pending government approval, they hope to start selling the gum in Europe and the United States within a year. I’m Bob Hirshon, for AAAS, the science society.