Environment minister Thérèse Coffey has told BBC News that almost all wet wipes will be banned in England as part of plans to reduce water pollution.
Speaking to the BBC, Secretary of State for the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) Thérèse Coffey said the ban on plastic wet wipes should become law in 2024 following a consultation.
According to the BBC report, the ban is part of a wider plan to reduce water pollution and improve water quality in England; however, the proposed ban has been called “weak” by opposition parties and environmental groups.
Coffey told BBC News: “Our proposal is to ban plastic from wet wipes. It’s a legal requirement to make sure that we can go ahead with any ban.”
A Plastic Planet said that “of course” plastic wet wipes should be banned but the announcement feels like an attempt to “spin a news story” rather than a serious strategy.
It’s a legal requirement to make sure that we can go ahead with any ban.
Sian Sutherland, Co-Founder, A Plastic Planet & PlasticFree, said: “For years a UK ban on plastic wipes has been debated. Introducing it again now, for further consultation, sums up this government’s approach to tackling the plastic pollution crisis. Slug-like, slow and overly influenced by lobbyists with ulterior motives.
“The only way to tackle plastic pollution is to tackle plastic production. That means investing in alternative technologies and removing plastic from the market on a grand scale.”
Wet wipes make up around 93% of the material causing sewer blockages, according to a study by Water UK. Research from Water UK also showed that 22% of people admitted to flushing wet wipes down the toilet despite 88% saying they were aware they harm the environment.
Last year (2022), Boots stopped selling all wet wipes that contain plastic fibres and replaced them with plant-based biodegradable options. The move came after similar bans were implemented by Tesco and Holland & Barrett.
Opposition political parties have criticised the plans. Labour’s Shadow Environment Secretary, Jim McMahon MP, said: “This announcement is nothing more than a shuffling of the deck chairs and a reheating of old, failed measures that simply give the green light for sewage dumping to continue for decades to come.”
It’s a big step forward to see the government taking water pollution seriously by proposing to outlaw plastic-based wet wipes.
Following the announcement, founder of social enterprise Common Seas, Jo Royle, said: “It’s a big step forward to see the government taking water pollution seriously by proposing to outlaw plastic-based wet wipes.
“But wet wipes are only one of the many plastics that end up in our waterways, in our drinking water, and eventually in our blood. This may be having a serious effect on our health.
“Now we need similarly strong action to see far more single-use plastic items, like carrier bags, plastic bottles and food packaging, phased out to protect human health.”
