Dutch government pushes EU ban on plastic-based chewing gum amid litter crisis
The Dutch government is urging the European Union to ban the sale of chewing gum containing plastic. It argues that gum is a major source of microplastic pollution and costly litter that municipalities struggle to remove. If approved, any ban could take effect no earlier than 2030.
The proposal was submitted to the European Commission as part of its review of EU single-use plastics rules. "Chewing gum generally contains plastics and often ends up on the street," State Secretary Bertram of Infrastructure and Water Management told NOS. "Chewing gum with plastic on the street leads to microplastic pollution in the environment. Banning plastic in chewing gum would prevent that."
The Dutch government therefore wants only chewing gum made with natural ingredients to be allowed. It said the proposal is "primarily based on environmental considerations," rather than health concerns.
People in the Netherlands chew about 3.5 million kilograms of gum each year. After cigarette filters, chewing gum is the country's most common form of litter and accounts for 13 percent of all litter, according to Rijkswaterstaat. It is especially common in busy areas such as shopping centers, bus stops, train stations, and outside restaurants and cafes.
Municipalities have also called for a ban. "Municipalities can continue cleaning and running behavior-change campaigns, but that is like mopping with the tap running," an NVRD spokesperson said. "Chewing gum may seem like a small problem, but it is a persistent form of litter for municipalities. A piece of discarded chewing gum gets trampled flat and remains there for years."
Conventional chewing gum is made with synthetic gum based on petroleum-derived polymers, or plastic. That's along with ingredients including sugar, flavorings, resins, plasticizers, fillers such as talc or chalk, emulsifiers, and other additives. Microplastics are released while gum is chewed and also enter the environment when discarded outdoors.
Plastic-based gum can take 20 to 100 years to decompose. Natural gum breaks down much faster, with estimates ranging from several weeks to 10 years. However, recent research has also detected microplastics in gum marketed as plastic-free.
Removing discarded gum is labor-intensive and typically requires specialized steam cleaners and solvents. In heavily affected areas, including the Lijnbaan in Rotterdam, workers sometimes still use putty knives attached to poles.
In The Hague, crews remove gum from the busy Grote Marktstraat every weekday, but stations and major shopping centers are cleaned less often.
Cleaning Grote Marktstraat alone costs about 150,000 euros a year, according to The Hague environmental alderman Arjen Kapteijns.
He welcomed the Dutch push for a European ban on plastic chewing gum. "We see that campaigns to change behavior are not working sufficiently," Kapteijns told NOS.
If an EU-wide ban cannot be secured, the Dutch government wants manufacturers to cover cleanup costs instead. "Then at least we can be reimbursed for the high costs we are currently incurring," Kapteijns said.
Municipalities believe a ban is politically achievable. They point to previous EU restrictions on plastic-containing products such as cotton swabs, straws, and stirrers.
The Dutch and European confectionery industry associations, VBZ and ICGA Europe, oppose the proposal, calling a chewing gum ban "disproportionate" and saying it "misses the mark."
VBZ described it as "an unprecedented measure with consequences for consumers, producers, and the Dutch confectionery industry." The industry groups argue that the EU's single-use plastics rules were intended mainly for products such as packaging and vaping devices, not food products like chewing gum.
The European Commission is expected to complete its review of the single-use plastics rules within a year.
