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

Closed on 7 July 2021

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.