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It takes extremely long because the base of chewing gum is either (depending on the make) rubber, wax or plastic, which all degrade very slowly.

From Yahoo Answers:

Every commercial gum has a gum base, just like every trophy has a trophy base, and in some cases the two are disturbingly similar. The base makes up a percentage of the gum; the remaining ingredients are flavor and sugar. Gum bases are the part that we chew and chew and chew long after the flavor is just a memory. They are grouped in categories: elastomers (including natural and synthetic rubbers), resins, plasticizers (such as waxes, vegetable oils, and glycerides), adjuvants (including calcium carbonate, talc, or other charging agents), and antioxidants. In other words, the gum is, at base, plastic or rubber or wax.


The bottom line: Don't spit your gum out in the compost or on the sidewalk, and don't stick it under the table; put it in the trash. Contrary to persistent urban legends, you can also swallow your gum. It'll eventually pass right on through, undigested. Yum.
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15y ago

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