“Our initial hypothesis was that the synthetic gums would have a lot more microplastics because the base is a type of plastic,” Lisa Lowe, the study’s co-collaborator and a graduate student in Mohanty’s lab, explained in a statement. (Yes, certain types of synthetic gum contain petroleum-based polymers.)

A new study found that both natural and synthetic gum shed microplastics, with each piece of gum producing about 100 pieces

Researchers tested ten different chewing gum brands, and found no difference between synthetic and natural gum.