UK Bans Wet Wipes After Causing 93% of Sewage Blockages

According to a report, wet wipes are to blame for 93% of sewage blockages, which led the UK leaders to propose a ban.

Plans being made for combatting water pollution propose that England will outlaw wet wipes made of plastic, according to environment minister Therese Coffey.

According to Coffey, the ban on plastic wipes ought to take effect a year after a consultation.

In England, where no waterway or river is recognized as clean, it is part of a larger plan to improve water quality.

93% of Sewage Blockages

However, environmental organizations and opposition groups decried the plan as insufficient.

According to Water UK, about 93% of sewage blockages, fatbergs included, are caused by wet wipes that are disposed of by being flushed down toilets.

Woes added up when revealed that their removal costs about £100 million annually.

In 2021, approximately 90% of wipes contained plastic, even though some alternatives are now commercially available.

Due to the wipes' eventual snagging and adhesion caused by the plastics' resistance to degradation, sewage cannot flow through the pipes.

Ban on Wet Wipes

The suggestion, according to Coffey, is to ban the use of plastic in manufacturing wet wipes.

She reiterated the need for a quick consultation before any enactment

In 2018, the government first declared its intent to halt the production of plastic waste, which included wet wipes among many other products.

In 2021, a government consultation found that 96% of respondents who favored a ban on wet wipes said as much.

After additional consultation earlier this year, however, the government decided against simply banning wet wipes.

Wales has not yet put into effect a proposed ban on using plastic as an ingredient in wet wipes.

The Scottish government held discussions about a ban but took no action.

Several stores, including those run by Tesco and Boots, no longer carry wet wipes in plastic packaging.

The wet wipes ban is part of the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs or Defra's larger Plan for Water strategy, which aims to improve England's water quality.

It addresses road runoff and pollution from farming, and it could lead to the outlawing of some PFAS, popularly known as "forever chemicals."

According to Yorkshire Water via the BBC News, wipes are the primary cause of sewage blockages in Yorkshire.

It accounted for nearly half of all blockages in 2022, so it supported the proposed ban.

The government's plans were criticized by opposition political parties as being too little, too late.

Also Read: New Recyclable Plastic Made of Super Glue Raw Material Could Be the Answer, Researchers Say

Plastic in Wet Wipes

Natracare estimated that 90% of wet wipes available in the market contain plastic of some kind.

With the help of plastic resins, cotton, polypropylene (PP) or polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and polyester are woven together to create common wipes with a soft yet sturdy texture.

Plastic also can not fully degrade; instead, it only fragments into ever-tinier pieces, releasing millions of tiny plastic particles into the environment.

According to Natracare, conventional cotton, fragrance ingredients, and plastics are just a few of the harmful substances found in wipes.

The plastics are frequently woven with plastic resins from cotton, PET, or polypropylene.

It may contain and leach chemicals linked to cancer and endocrine disruption in addition to adding to ocean pollution.

Similar dangers are associated with fragrance ingredients; they may also contain substances linked to endocrine disruption, cancer, developmental toxicity, neurotoxicity, and many others.

Conventional cotton may also be exposed to pesticides, which have been linked to environmental harm.