Plastic wet wipes facing ban in Scotland and UK to stop them clogging up sewers

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Plastic wet wipes are set to be banned in Scotland in a bid to stop them clogging up sewers and polluting our waterways.Parents worried about a nappy nightmare were reassured there will still be a huge range of plastic-free wipes on the market - with stores like Boots, Tesco and Aldi having already acted to remove damaging plastic brands.The proposed nationwide ban was hailed by Scottish Water, who have repeatedly complained about the pressure put on the sewage system by the flushing of toxic plastic wipes.Wet wipes eventually break down into microplastics, which damage ecosystems and contribute to water pollution, and discarded wipes have increasingly littered Scotland’s beaches.New legislation will be brought forward across all four UK nations this year with the ban taking effect 18 months later in mid-2026.

This transition period will allow firms to prepare, the Scottish Government said.A recent consultation found 95 per cent of Scots agreed wet wipes with plastic should be outlawed, while the ban is also backed by groups like the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, the Marine Conservation Society and Zero Waste Scotland.It comes as Scotland’s sewer system faces around 100 ‘chokes’ every day with wet wipes a frequent culprit in clogging up the network, leading to filthy sewage flooding into the environment.Simon Parsons, Director of Environment, Planning and Assurance for Scottish Water, said: “We are delighted to see this progress on bringing forward new laws to prevent the sale and use of wet wipes made with plastic.“This will have a significant positive impact on our country’s sewers and our water environments so people can enjoy them without encountering the source of sewage-related debris.”From 2015 to 2020, an