Gum solution to sticky mess

Non-stick chewing gum which can be washed off streets and degrades naturally in the environment has been developed by a team of scientists.

The gum, which they tested on streets and their CEO’s daughter’s hair, contains an ingredient that coats it with a thin film of water, making it easier to remove.

Its creation could prove a big hit with mall owners and supermarket operators in Bahrain as they attempt to rid the floors of unsightly mess and save time in removing it from outside pavements.

Mr Gopakumar, operations manager of The Bahrain Mall, in Sanabis, said: “Of all the things that end up on our floor, chewing gum is one of the hardest to remove. The work is done manually and takes a lot of time.”

And Andrew Petty, centre manager at the Yateem Centre in Manama, added: “It is particularly hard to remove gum because it is sometimes left in the most unlikely and most difficult-to-reach areas.

“People spit out gum without thinking of the consequences. Unfortunately it can leave a public perception that a whole area is unkempt and dirty no matter how hard you try to keep on top of the problem.”

A survey found it took 17 weeks to clean chewing gum from one main shopping area but within 10 days cleaners counted 300,000 new pieces stuck to the floor.

A Bristol University team, led by Terence Cosgrove, stuck chewed gum in set places on the streets of an English city and various towns in north Wales and returned later to record its fate.

In all the tests, the non-stick gum washed away with rain or street cleaning within 24 hours, while standard gum remained stuck.

In a further test, the scientists – whose company, Revolymer, is a spin-off from their work with the university – pressed lumps of non-stick and standard chewing gum into the hair of the CEO’s daughter, who consented because she was planning to have her hair cut. Professor Cosgrove said the non-stick gum was removed after several washes with shampoo, while the commercial brand had to be cut out.

What his team has developed is a polymer that can be mixed into chewing gum.

Each molecular chain that makes up the polymer contains one end that repels water and another that attracts water.

When the gum is chewed, the polymer attracts water in saliva, forming a thin film around it, which acts as a lubricant and prevents it from becoming sticky.

“With this gum, you always get a film of water around it, and that’s one of the reasons it’s easy to remove and in some cases doesn’t stick at all,” Prof Cosgrove said.

The scientists are applying for approval to use the polymer as an additive for chewing gum.

They expect to gain permission in December.

Versions of the product, called Clean Gum, in lemon and mint flavours, could then be launched in 2008.

Mr Gopakumar added: “I could now do with someone inventing a way to get rid of stickers which are also a nuisance and difficult to shift.”