Bob Earll    Waiting for Godot is Beckett’s famous play whose central characters wait but he never turns up.  One wonders whether it will be 2042 before Government turns up and does anything on wet wipes in the face of the huge increase in their use and the growing costs to the water industry and environmental damage.  

Thames 21 survey highlights massive increase in wet wipes which are changing the shape of British riverbeds, campaigners said after finding more than 5,000 of them alongside the Thames in an area the size of half a tennis court. Thames 21, a London environmental organisation that cleans up rivers and canals, retrieved 5,453 wet wipes during an operation last month in 116 sq m of the Thames embankment near Hammersmith. The haul was an increase of nearly a thousand over last year’s total (which took place on a larger riverbank area). “You need to go at low tide to see the mounds forming,” said Thames 21’s Kirsten Downer. “The Thames riverbed is changing. Wet wipes are accumulating on the riverbed and affecting the shape of the riverbed. It looks natural but when you get close you can see that these clumps are composed of wet wipes mixed with twigs and mud.” Wet wipes are now a booming industry with their own conference and even a “moist towelette” online museum. The sector is busily innovating, and alongside baby wipes you can now buy personal care wipes, household wipes, industrial wipes, pet wipes and speciality anti-malarial wipes. The sector is expected to grow about 6-7% a year, and to expand from a $3bn international market to $4bn by 2021.

Water UK has announced today that wet wipes are the biggest cause of sewer blockages: new proof that flushing wet wipes causes sewer blockages. They have found that wipes make up more than 90% of the material causing sewers to block. When blockages happen, the contents of drains and toilets can end up in rivers and on beaches. That‘s very unpleasant and it causes pollution that kills fish and other wildlife – derailing years of improvements by local people, the Environment Agency and water companies. It also costs a lot of money – £100 million a year to clear blockages

Defra refutes press coverage over potential Government wet wipes ban

The Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs has issued official comment refuting recent national press coverage of the UK Government’s ambition to eliminate single-use plastic waste – some media have suggested the Government is planning on ‘banning’ wet wipes.

Yesterday there was further coverage in the Independent newspaper following concerns from parents on the potential impact of a ‘ban’. Defra said that while eliminating single-use plastic waste is one of the Government’s top priorities as outlined in 25-year Environment Plan, no plans had been announced to ban wet wipes. The Department said it had always been clear on the ambition to eliminate single-use plastic waste which could be reached in a number of ways, including banning some plastic sources for which there is an alternative, such as microbeads. The ambition also means working closely with industry to reduce the amount of plastic packaging, or changing shopping patterns, such as through the 5p plastic bag charge.

To prevent wet wipes entering waterways and damaging the marine environment, Defra is working with the water and manufacturing industries to better understand which types of wet wipes are involved in sewer blockages, and improve labelling of wet wipes so the public understand what and what cannot be flushed.

The Department also wants to tackle the amount of plastic in circulation in the first place, which includes encouraging innovation so that more plastics products can be recycled.

Defra said it will continue to work with industry to support the development of alternatives, such as a wet-wipe product that does not contain plastic.

A Defra spokesperson commented:   “Through our 25 Year Environment Plan we have a clear commitment to eliminate all avoidable plastic waste. There are a number of ways we can reach this ambition, including banning plastic items – as we have done with our microbeads ban – but also by working with industry to find suitable alternatives or encouraging behaviour change.  “Our focus for wet wipes is to work with manufacturers and water companies to develop a product that does not contain plastic and can be safely flushed. We are also continuing to work with industry to make sure labelling on the packaging of these products is clear and people know how to dispose of them properly.”