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

Ban all non-biodegradable chewing gum

Closed 37 signatures

What the petition asks

Non-biodegradable chewing gum causes significant environmental damage. Therefore, the Government should enact a law that bans all production and selling of non-biodegradable gum in the UK.
The main issue with non-biodegradable gum is that it is often not discarded properly. For public authorities this is a huge challenge causing tremendous strain on the public purse. The Local Government Association has estimated that for each piece of gum costing 3p the cost of removal is £1.50 which adds up to £60 million bill annually for local authorities. Moreover, gum can flow into water streams and pollutes oceans and rivers leading to many animals and sea life ingesting it.

Timeline

7 Dec 2021 Petition opened for signatures
7 Jun 2022 Closed to new signatures

Key facts

Signatures 37
Status Closed
Department Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Opened 7 Dec 2021
Closed 7 Jun 2022

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