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British scientists develop 'non-sticky' chewing gum
Scientists said Friday they had cracked a sticky problem which they have been chewing over for years by inventing gum which is easily removable from shoes, pavements and hair.
Its developers Revolymer say that the chewing gum, which should be launched next year, disappears naturally within 24 hours.
If it catches on, the product will solve a major headache for local authorities around the world. In Britain alone, councils spend more than 150 million pounds (200 million euros, 300 million dollars) per year blitzing gum from the streets using chemicals and spray jets.
In Singapore, the authorities tackled the problem by banning chewing gum in 1992, although the measure was relaxed in 2004 to make gum available to people with a medical prescription.
Professor Terence Cosgrove, Revolymer's chief scientific officer who is also an academic at Bristol University in south-west England, said the gum was less sticky because a polymer had been added to the recipe.
"The advantage of our Clean Gum is that it has a great taste, it is easy to remove and has the potential to be environmentally degradable," he said.
Last week, researchers at University College Cork in south-west Ireland said they were developing a biodegradable gum but added they needed to do another two and a half years of research to develop the final product.
A person blows a bubble with chewing gum. Scientists say they had cracked a sticky problem which they have been chewing over for years by inventing gum which is easily removable from shoes, pavements and hair.
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