Wet wipes containing plastic are no longer sold in the UK | British news

Environment Secretary Steve Barclay has said the move “builds on a range of actions already taken to protect our waterways”, but the government has been criticized for not going far enough.

Wet wipes containing plastic will no longer be allowed to be sold in Britain, with the legislation expected to be announced today by Environment Secretary Steve Barclay.

The government plans to introduce the legislation before parliament’s summer recess begins in July.

The new law will make it illegal to sell wet wipes containing plastic in England before it is rolled out to the rest of Britain in the autumn.

Discarded wet wipes often litter Britain’s beaches and eventually break down into microplastics, which contribute to water pollution and damage to ecosystems.

Numerous retailers – including Boots, Aldi and Tesco – have already moved banish them from their shelves.

Mr Barclay has said the ban “builds on a range of actions already taken to protect our waterways and hold water companies to account”.

The other actions include “accelerating investments, reducing environmental fines from water companies and quadrupling the number of inspections of water company sites,” he said.

However, Labor has said the legislation does not go far enough, calling for “a complete ban on the sale, supply and production of plastic wet wipes”.

They have also pointed out that the Conservatives first promised to ban wet wipes in 2018.

Click to subscribe to ClimateCast with Tom Heap, wherever you get your podcasts

Today’s proposal comes after a consultation which showed overwhelming support for this measure. Campaigners have welcomed the news, but have also called on the government to go further.

Jane Martin, chief executive of environmental charity City To Sea, said: “It is a positive step forward to see the Government taking definitive action to ban this pollutant, but the action cannot stop there.

“The government must now look to tackle all single-use plastic products through further bans and mandatory reuse and refill targets.”

Read more from Sky News:
Plastic crisis ‘out of control’
Why beach cleaning matters

Parliament’s summer recess starts on July 23 and it is expected that the bill will be introduced before then.

With a general election expected later this year, ministers will have little time to pass the law.