Amsterdam Is Solving Its Gum Litter Problem by Making Shoes Out of Recycled Gum

Why waste it when you can wear it?

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In any major city, gum litter is such a stock part of the landscape that it’s almost indistinguishable from brick, cobblestones or concrete.

In Amsterdam, 1.5 million kilograms of gum is left on the street yearly—it’s the second most common litter after cigarettes. Every year the government spends millions of euros to clean it … and worse, gum takes forever to biodegrade: around 25 years, give or take. In the meantime, animals consume it and often suffocate as a result.

So

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