Are you keeping a mental list of all the sources of microplastics finding their way into your daily life? You may have another culprit to consider: It’s gum, according to a new pilot study that found chewing just one piece can release hundreds to thousands of microplastics into saliva.

Chewing gum releases hundreds of tiny plastic pieces straight into people's mouths, researchers said on Tuesday, also warning of the pollution created by the rubber-based sweet. Lowe also warned about the plastic pollution from chewing gum -- particularly when people "spit it out onto the sidewalk".