The government will ban wet wipes containing plastic to combat water pollution

Wet wipes containing plastic will no longer be marketed in Britain under legislation expected to be confirmed on Monday.

Environment Secretary Steve Barclay is expected to announce plans to introduce legislation before the summer break in July, following a long-running campaign to ban the products.

The law would make it illegal to sell or supply wet wipes containing plastic in England, with the rest of Britain following suit in the autumn.

Wet wipes eventually break down into microplastics, which damage ecosystems and contribute to water pollution. Discarded wipes are increasingly littering British beaches.

Mr Barclay said: “I have made it clear that a step change is needed to protect our waterways from pollution.

“The ban builds on a series of actions already taken to protect our waterways and hold water utilities accountable, including accelerating investments, reducing environmental fines for water utilities and quadrupling the number of inspections of water utility sites .”

But Labor said the ban did not go far enough and promised a “complete ban on the sale, supply and production of plastic wet wipes”.

Shadow environment secretary Steve Reed said: “Plastic wet wipes are clogging our sewers, killing wildlife and leading to sewage entering people’s homes.

“The Conservatives have broken their promises to act and are too weak to ban them outright.”

The party also pointed out that the Conservatives had first pledged in 2018 to ban wet wipes as part of the crackdown on plastic waste.

Monday’s proposals follow a consultation that saw overwhelming support for the move.

A previous consultation, in 2021, also found that more than 90% of people were in favor of a ban.

Some companies such as Boots, Aldi and Tesco have already taken steps to ban wet wipes containing plastic from their stores.

Steve Ager, chief customer and commercial officer at Boots, said: “We are pleased to see the Government taking action now as a ban on all wet wipes containing plastic will have a much bigger impact than retailers taking action alone.

“We all have a collective responsibility to protect the environment and support a healthy planet.”

Campaigners welcomed Monday’s proposals but urged the government to go further than a ban on individual products.

Jane Martin, CEO of City To Sea, said: “It is a positive step forward to see the Government taking definitive action to ban this pollutant, but the action should not end there.

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

Parliament’s summer recess starts on July 23 and legislation is expected to be introduced before then.

However, with elections expected in the autumn, there will be little time to pass the law before the country goes to the polls.