Closed petition Ban all non-biodegradable chewing gum

Closed on 7 June 2022

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.