Petition · past parliament · Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Ban the sale of plastic manual toothbrushes in the UK by 2025.

Closed 130 signatures

What the petition asks

We would like the government to ban the sale of manual plastic toothbrushes in the UK from 2025. Manual plastic toothbrushes are a prolific example of harmful plastic waste, and there are already a roster of viable alternatives on the market for industry to move forward with.
Around 4.7 billion plastic manual toothbrushes are made each year. Each one of these is non-biodegradable. Even after 1000 years in landfill, these will reduce to smaller micro-plastics which are still dangerous to us and our wildlife. There are already viable alternatives, perhaps the most widely used being bamboo compostable toothbrushes. Bamboo suits well as it is quick growing and a sustainable wood to use in these quantities. We have proven that toothbrushes do not need to be harmful.

Timeline

7 Jan 2021 Petition opened for signatures
7 Jul 2021 Closed to new signatures

Key facts

Signatures 130
Status Closed
Department Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Opened 7 Jan 2021
Closed 7 Jul 2021

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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.