Worldwide, humans chew some 560,000 tons of gum per year, according to a report in Critical Reviews in Oral Biology & Medicine. Though there are no official reports on its environmental impact, there's no question it adds to waste.

The time, money and chemicals invested in removing all those black blobs you see on the sidewalk are also costly. According to a 2010 Mayor of London press release, it costs up to £10 million per year to clear London’s streets of chewing gum.

Different groups are looking into ways to cut back on the waste. According to Slate, a group of Dartmouth students studied gum wrappers and found that Bubble Tape-like products produced the lowest amount of greenhouse-gas emissions.