Wet wipes containing plastic are to be banned from being sold in the UK, with legislation announced by Environment Secretary Steve Barclay today.
The government says it will introduce the legislation before parliament’s breaks up for summer recess in July.
The new law means it will be illegal to sell wet wipes containing plastic in England, before being rolled out to the rest of the UK later this year.
Barclay says the move is needed to protect our waterways from “an unnecessary source of pollution”.
Wet wipes containing plastic break down into microplastics over time, which research shows can be harmful to human health and disrupt ecosystems. It is hoped the ban will reduce plastic and microplastic pollution and reduce the volume of microplastics entering wastewater treatment sites.
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A recent survey found an average of 20 wet wipes were found per 100 metres of beach surveyed across the UK.
The ban follows a government consultation on the subject last year, while major retailers including Boots and Tesco have already banned plastic wet wipes from their shelves.
Environment secretary Steve Barclay said: “Wet wipes containing plastic are polluting our waterways and causing microplastics to enter the environment.
“Defra will introduce legislation before the summer recess to crack down on this unnecessary source of pollution, following our successful single-use carrier bag charge and ban on microbeads in personal care products.
“I have been clear that a step change is needed to protect our waterways from pollution. The ban builds on a raft of actions already taken to protect our waterways and hold water companies accountable – including accelerating investment, putting water company fines back into the environment and quadrupling the number of inspections of water company sites.
“Plastic-free wet wipes are readily available and several retailers have already stopped selling wet wipes containing plastic.”
Greenpeace UK head of plastics Nina Schrank, said “banning items one by one is not an efficient way to deal with the out of control plastics issue in the UK.
“Only last week The Big Plastic Count showed that UK households are throwing away approximately 1.7 billion pieces of plastic waste every week. The government needs to ditch its piecemeal approach and start looking at a systemic solution that will phase out single-use plastic, and truly turn off the tap.
!With crucial negotiations at the UN on a global plastics treaty starting this week, we need the government to start showing a great deal more ambition, leading countries to adopt a 75% cut to how much plastic is produced, by 2040.”
