Consider the following statements:
- Statement-I: Many chewing gums found in the market are considered a source of environmental pollution.
- Statement-II: Many chewing gums contain plastic as gum base.
Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (a) Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II explains Statement-I
The chewy part of most modern gum is not a natural tree gum but a synthetic 'gum base' made of polymers such as polyvinyl acetate, polyethylene and butyl rubber, which are plastics. Because that base does not biodegrade, spat-out gum stays on pavements for years and slowly breaks into microplastics, so the plastic base is exactly why gum is counted as a pollutant.
- ✓ Statement-I Discarded gum is treated as litter, for example under the UK Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act, because a synthetic gum base does not biodegrade. It hardens on pavements, is costly to scrape off, and over years breaks into microplastic fragments.
- ✓ Statement-II Traditional gum used chicle, the latex of the sapodilla (zapota) tree. FSSAI's standard now permits both natural and synthetic gum bases, including synthetic rubber latex, synthetic resin and polyvinyl acetate, and US food rules list polyethylene, polyisobutylene and polyvinyl acetate. The plastic base is exactly why the gum lasts as litter, so Statement-II explains Statement-I.
Remember · Modern gum base = synthetic polymers (polyvinyl acetate, polyethylene, butyl rubber), i.e. plastic; old gum base = chicle from the zapota tree. Non-biodegradable, so gum litter becomes microplastic.
📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 12 Fundamentals of Human Geography, Ch 4 (practise this chapter)
Sources
- FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Regulations, 2011), Sub-regulation 2.7.3: Chewing gum and bubble gum ↗ “Chewing gum and bubble gum shall be prepared from chewing gum base, or bubble gum base, natural or synthetic, non-toxic; cane sugar and liquid glucose (corn syrup). … (10) Synthetic resin (11) Glycerol ester or partially hydrogenated gum or wood rosin. (12) Natural resin (13) Polyvinyl acetate (14) Agar (food grade)”
- US Code of Federal Regulations, 21 CFR 172.615: Chewing gum base (synthetic masticatory substances) ↗ “Petroleum wax synthetic Complying with § 172.888 . Polyethylene Molecular weight 2,000-21,000. Polyisobutylene Minimum molecular weight 37,000 (Flory). Polyvinyl acetate Molecular weight, minimum 2,000.”
- Dover District Council (UK), Chewing Gum Waste ↗ “Today’s gum is made from the similar synthetic rubbers – hence it’s non-biodegradable. In April 2006, discarded chewing gum was defined as litter for the first time under the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act.”
- NCERT Class 12 · Fundamentals of Human Geography, Chapter 4 “The name of the part of the chewing gum after the flavour is gone? It is called Chicle — it is made from the milky juice of zapota tree.”
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2024, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·