Gum at UNLV

Have you ever walked around campus and noticed a lot of black spots on the ground?  Those aren't part of the concrete, those are smooshed and dried up gum spots.  So why does gum stay around for a long time?  

Gum is made of a base of non-biodegradable materials including natural or synthetic wax, latex, or rubber.  I know that 99.9% of gum-chewers do not swallow their gum and simply dispose of it on the street or under a table or chair.  This creates a problem because gum is non-biodegradable and stays in that spot for a long time.  When you swallow gum, it passes through your system without breaking down.  Knowing this, a red-alert going is probably going off in your mind that gum is bad for the environment.  Gum thrown on the ground can also be eaten by animals and they can die.  Around the world, cities spend millions of dollars cleaning up gum and it is not easy to remove.  Therefore, you should use a Gum Rap to put your gum in and prevent it from being thrown on the ground or under a desk.  (From Be EGOlogical Blog Post: Say NO To Gum)

Here are a few photos of gum seen around the UNLV campus:

Stairs by CBC

Plants outside BEH

Under a table in the Lied Library

UNLV students, come on you can do better than this!  This is your campus and you are trashing it with gum that is difficult and costly to remove. Next time you want to throw out your gum, think twice about how you dispose of it.  

SSC members, Sam and I previously did a project about the environmental and health risks of chewing gum and Gum Raps provided Gum Rap packets for the class.  The other day, classmate Bryson asked if we had a Gum Rap on us so he could spit out his gum, and sure enough Sam did!  To find out more information on what Gum Raps are how to get a hold of their products, visit: http://www.gumraps.com/

Below are the steps to using a Gum Rap:

Step 1: Take a Gum Rap Sheet.  

Gum Rap packets are small so they can fit in your backpack or purse

Step 2: Side Note - There is a fun fact on the back of each Gum Rap Sheet,

 so if you would like to learn something new...don't forget to read it!

Step 3: Place your gum on Gum Rap sheet

Step 4: Place Gum Rap in garbage.  

Or you can hold onto them and send them in for gum recycling.