Government to begin plastic wet wipe ban consultation soon, says water minister
Around 90% of wet wipes currently contain plastic, which prevents them from breaking down when flushed.
The Government will begin a consultation on the ban of plastic wet wipes “as soon as possible”, water minister Rebecca Pow has said.
Ms Pow answered questions from the Lords’ industry and regulators committee on the water industry and the role of Government on Tuesday.
She said: “Under my hat, I would like to ban wet wipes containing plastics and bring forward our ban on these things, but that’s what we are endeavouring to do.”
Asked to give an exact date for the consultation on banning wet wipes, Ms Pow said: “All I can say is, as soon as possible.”
Around 90% of wet wipes currently contain plastic, which prevents them from breaking down when flushed, according to the Flood Hub – an organisation supported by the Environmental Agency.
They are a major contributor to fatbergs, which block sewers.
Fatbergs are formed when fat, oil and grease are poured down sinks and drains and combine with items that should not be flushed down the toilet, such as wet wipes, nappies and cotton buds.
Earlier this year, Water UK launched a campaign urging Britons to “bin the wipe”, adding that 75% of drain blockages are caused by people flushing wet wipes down the toilet.
Asked if the Government had the “will” to ban wet wipes, Ms Pow said that she personally had the will to do it.
“We actually were also the Government that launched our plan for water, which sets out step by step the game-changing transformation, for everything to do with water from demand to supply to pollution.
“And one of the things we said in there would be that we would progress the banning of wet wipes, and wet wipes in particular containing microbeads.
“In fact, I was the backbencher that started the campaign to ban plastics in wet wipes, which we’ve done. So we are already now working on how we can bring forward this consultation rapidly to do exactly as you’re saying.”
However, she said that there were businesses that were unhappy with the ban.
“But as with everything that one does, of course, there are businesses who are not quite so happy with the idea of banning wet wipes,” she said.
“But they do cause fatbergs… and it’s also about education to the public because there have been some very, very good campaigns, voluntary campaigns and bin the wipe, which gone a great way towards educating people not to chuck wet wipes down the loo.”
