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Closed Ban the sale of plastic wet wipes; affordable alternatives are widely available

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Government should ban the sale of baby and personal care wipes containing plastic in the UK by April 2022. Following DEFRA’s ban on single-use plastic straws, cotton buds and stirrers, wet wipes containing plastic should also be phased out and replaced with plastic-free, sustainable alternatives.

90% of the 11bn wipes sold in the UK contain plastic. They take 100+ years to degrade, leaving microplastics. Single-use plastic wipes are also behind 93% of sewer-clogging fatbergs, costing the taxpayer millions of pounds annually, and are the third most common marine litter item in the UK. Microplastic filters into our food chain and has even been found inside human placentas, potentially causing foetal damage. Government intervention is needed to drive forward change that is happening too slowly.

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  • Related activity

    Share your views on a proposed ban on wet wipes containing plastic

    The UK Government and the Devolved Administrations have launched a consultation and are seeking views on a proposed ban on the manufacture, supply and sale of wet wipes containing plastic in the UK. The proposal is aimed at reducing plastic and microplastic pollution.

    The consultation is open until 11.59pm on 25 November 2023. After the consultation has closed, a summary of responses and the resulting government response will be published. We will share these with you.

    What are the Government and Devolved Administrations seeking views on?

    The Government and Devolved Administrations aim to hear from individuals and organisations and are seeking views on:

    • The likely impact of the proposed ban on the businesses who manufacture, supply or sell wet wipes containing plastic
    • The likely impact of the proposed ban for consumers, particularly for those with protected characteristics
    • Any wider impacts of keeping plastic containing wet wipes in circulation
    • Any wider impacts of wipes marketed as alternative or plastic-free
    • The composition of alternative wet wipes
    • If any exemptions are needed for wet wipes containing plastic
    • The proposed timeframe for the commencement of the ban

    Read more about the plans on the webpage for the consultation.

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    Sign up to the Your UK Parliament newsletter for the latest information on how to get involved and make a difference.

  • Related activity

    MPs call for ban on all plastic waste exports

    MPs on the House of Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee have called for a ban on the export of all plastic waste from the UK by 2027 to reduce the country's contribution to global plastic waste pollution. 

    Read a summary of the Committee's report on plastic waste

    Report on ending the impact of plastic waste

    Earlier this month, the Committee published a report on the impact of plastic waste and ways of reducing it. In their report, MPs called on the Government to restrict the amount of plastic that can be exported from the UK. They also called on the Government to step up the enforcement of existing rules to prevent criminal gangs illegally exporting and dumping UK-produced waste. 

    The report follows a series of evidence sessions earlier this year, where the Committee questions representatives from charities, environmental campaigners and commercial trade experts. At these sessions the Committee explored:

    • whether the Government’s current ambitions to reduce plastic waste were enough
    • how alternatives to plastic consumption can be identified and supported
    • how England's current plastic exports impact other countries.

    Find out more about the Committee's inquiry into plastic waste and read oral evidence from the Committee's inquiry.

    What is the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee? 

    The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee is a cross-party group of backbench MPs that scrutinises the administration, spending and policy of the Government’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. 

    Get involved in the work of the UK Parliament

    Sign up to the Your UK Parliament newsletter for the latest information on how to get involved and make a difference.

  • Related activity

    Rivers are at risk from a “chemical cocktail” of sewage, slurry and plastic, say MPs

    MPs on the Environmental Audit Committee have published a report on water quality in rivers, which calls on the Government to ban the use of plastic in wet wipes and other single-use hygiene products.

    Read an interactive summary of the report: https://ukparliament.shorthandstories.com/river-water-quality/index.html

    Read the full report: https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5802/cmselect/cmenvaud/74/summary.html

    In the report, the Committee said that poor water quality in English rivers is a result of underinvestment and failures in monitoring, governance, and enforcement of regulations. Not a single river in England has received a clean bill of health for chemical contamination.

    The Committee also called on the Government to:

    • Extend the number of substances the Environment Agency monitors in rivers.

    • Review self-monitoring by water companies. Water companies appear to be dumping untreated or partially treated sewage in rivers regularly, often breaching the terms of permits that only allow this in exceptional circumstances.

    • Actively encourage the designation of at least one widely-used stretch of river for bathing in each water company area by 2025.

    What happens next?

    The Government now must respond to the Committee's report, which was published on 13 January 2022, within two months. The Committee will publish the Government’s response here: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/62/environmental-audit-committee/.

    What is the Environmental Audit Committee?

    The Environmental Audit Committee is a cross-party group of non-Government MPs who look into how Government policies and departments contribute to environmental protection and sustainable development.

    Find out more about the Committee: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/62/environmental-audit-committee/

    Follow the Committee on Twitter for updates on its work: https://twitter.com/CommonsEAC

  • Petition closed

  • Petition published

    This petition can now be signed.

    If this petition gets 10,000 signatures, government will respond to it.

    If this petition gets 100,000 signatures, it will be considered for debate in Parliament.

    This petition will stay open until 5 November 2021.