The UK Government will introduce new world-leading legislation to ban wet wipes containing plastic, the Environment Secretary confirmed on 22 April 2024.
Key points
- Government announces next steps to ban the supply and sale of wet wipes containing plastic following overwhelming support during the consultation process.
- World-leading legislation will be introduced this year to help tackle plastic pollution and clean up waterways.
- Transition period set out for businesses to help them adapt.
The Department for environment, food and rular affairs (Defra) intends to bring forward the legislation for England ahead of summer recess, with Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales following by the autumn as part of an aligned approach to bring the ban into force.
Wet wipes containing plastic break down into microplastics over time, which research shows can be harmful to human health and disrupt the ecosystems – with a recent survey showing an average of 20 wet wipes were found per 100 metres of beach surveyed across the UK*.
Once in the water environment, wet wipes containing plastic can accumulate biological and chemical pollutants, increasing the risk of harm to the animals and humans who encounter them.
Banning them will reduce plastic and microplastic pollution and reduce the volume of microplastics entering wastewater treatment sites when wrongly flushed – meaning the beaches and waterways will benefit from the ban.
Responses to the public consultation showed overwhelming support for the proposed ban – which will be introduced via secondary legislation under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 – with 95% of respondents agreeing or strongly agreeing with the proposals. The government’s response was published on 22 April 2024 alongside the Welsh Government, Scottish Government and Northern Ireland Executive.
*For the period 2015 to 2020, an average of 20 wet wipes were found per 100m of beach surveyed across the UK according to Defra Beach Litter Monitoring Data