In Amsterdam they make shoes with recycled gum from the street

Categories:

• Environment
• Society
• Education

by Rosa Ruiz

Posted on July 31, 2018

It is a very difficult and costly waste to dispose of, but Gumbudy seems to have found the solution.

Chewing gums end up on the floor as often as cigarette butts. Both highly polluting, are waste of difficult and expensive elimination. In the capital of a country where, every year, 1.5 million kilos of chewing gum end up in the streets, a citizen has decided to find an exit that cares both the planet and the pocket.

Jolande Penninks is the founder of Gumbudy, an organization that collects chewing gum in different parts of Amsterdam - and also in other cities of high population density, such as Rotterdam - by installing boards in crowded places, such as shopping malls or public transport stations. At the same time, it has managed to introduce the theme in schools, emphasizing the environmental impact that this waste has on the soil.

With all the material collected, and with the help of the municipalities of the metropolitan area of the city, they launched Gumshoe, a footwear made of chewing gum, the first of its kind in the world. In this way, a second life is given to a waste that takes years to degrade by natural means, and a useful product is generated through recycling.