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 UK Government will introduce new world-leading […]
The UK Government, Welsh Government, Scottish Government and the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs for Northern Ireland are seeking views on a proposed ban on the manufacture, supply and sale of wet wipes containing plastic. The proposed ban, subject to consultation outcomes, would be applied by individual countries in the UK and be […]
New research shows that 22% of people admit to flushing wet wipes down the toilet despite 88% saying they are aware they harm the environment This is despite an overwhelming majority of the public saying they care about protecting the environment (91%), pollution of rivers and seas (91%), and protecting animals (93%) Wet wipes are […]
Environment secretary Thérèse Coffey has announced a ban from October 2023 in England on a range of single-use plastic items, mostly relating to food. These included plates, trays, bowls, cutlery and certain types of polystyrene cups and food containers. England uses 2.7 billion items of single-use cutlery — most of which are plastic — and […]
Almost half the 25,000 sewer blockages in Yorkshire last year were caused by wet wipes flushed down toilets, Yorkshire Water has said. The company said 11,946 of the 25,976 blockages were caused by wipes which did not break down in sewers. Yorkshire Water warned some wipes contained plastic which caused them to snag in pipes. […]
UK retailer Boots has vowed to stop selling all wet wipes that contain plastic fibres by the end of the year, Sky News reported. The pharmacy chain is one of the biggest sellers of wet wipes in the country, with more than 140 different brands stocked across skincare, baby, tissue and health care categories. After selling […]
Millions of wet-wipes are flushed into UK rivers and are making the headlines on morning TV pic.twitter.com/CUqyHZlprE One wonders whether the consumer labelling route is going to be enough to solve this problem. Bob Earll MCS: Leading retailers not embracing new wet wipe ‘flushability’ standard Own-brand wipes can’t carry new ‘Fine to Flush’ logo because […]
Wet wipes are reshaping the banks of the Thames to create a “Frankenstein foreshore” warn campaigners. New survey data published by volunteer group Thames21 found that in Barnes, West London, a ‘Great Wet Wipe Reef’ has swelled to 50 metres wide, 17 metres long and a metre high – almost a metre larger than a year […]