In the United Kingdom, design student-turned-entrepreneur Anna Bullus has founded Gumdrop, a company that turns used chewing gum into useful products.
The Bullus-based company manufacturers dog bowls, combs, and rubber boots from the resins, polymers, and plasticizers found in discarded chewing gum. Gumdrop’s signature product, however, is a pink recycling bin for people to use to dispose of their gum (the bin and the discarded gum can then be recycled together).
So far, Gumdrop’s bins are only found in the U.K. Bullus tells Chemical & Engineering News that Heathrow Airport saved $8,500 in cleaning costs during an eight-week trial with the bins.