The U.K. has officially signed into law a ban on the sale of plastic wet wipes, following overwhelming public support with 95% of respondents to a government survey agreeing with the proposal.

The move comes as wet wipes containing plastic are being seen as a growing source of pollution, with a recent survey showing an average of 20 wet wipes littering every 100 meters of beach across the U.K. When flushed, they can break down into microplastics that poison wildlife and enter the food chain. 

“This ban will put an end to plastic wet wipes which choke our sewers, litter our beaches and poison wildlife,” says environment secretary Emmay Reynolds. “It’s another example of the government taking strong, decisive action to clean up our rivers, lakes and seas.”

The sale and supply of wet wipes containing plastic in Scotland will be banned beginning August 11, 2027, joining other U.K. nations in an effort to protect the environment and marine waters. Wales will enact the ban December 18, 2026; Northern Ireland May 18, 2027 and England May 19, 2027.

According to the scope of the legislation, U.K. companies will still be able to manufacture and export plastic wet wipes, and they will still be available for people to buy from pharmacies both in person (behind the counter) and online. Businesses like hotels will be allowed to buy the wipes, without restrictions. The medical profession successfully argued for an exemption from the wet wipe ban, arguing that non-plastic wipes absorb too much of the detergents and disinfectants impregnated in them, with potential consequences for patient safety.

The U.K. government announced plans to ban wet wipes containing plastic in 2024 arguing that banning plastic-containing wipes will reduce plastic and microplastic pollution and reduce the volume of microplastics entering wastewater treatment sites when wrongly flushed—meaning beaches and waterways will benefit from the ban.

Even before this announcement, several U.K. retailers including Boots, Aldi and Tesco had decided to remove plastic from their store branded wet wipes.

“Boots was proud to be one of the first retailers to remove all wipes containing plastic from sale in stores and online in 2023 as part of our long-standing commitment with suppliers and customers to reduce the use of plastics,” says Steve Ager, chief customer and commercial officer.

Currently, over half of consumer wet wipes on the market in the U.K. are already plastic-free. The four Governments in the U.K. have taken a considered approach and the proposals set out will build on these efforts. 

Responses to the public consultation showed overwhelming support for the proposed ban—which will be introduced via secondary legislation under the country’s Environmental Protection Act 1990—with 95% of respondents agreeing or strongly agreeing with the proposals.

“Wet wipes containing plastic are polluting our waterways and causing microplastics to enter the environment. Defra will introduce legislation before the summer recess to crack down on this unnecessary source of pollution, following our successful single-use carrier bag charge and ban on microbeads in personal care products,” says Steve Barclay, former environment secretary. “I have been clear that a step change is needed to protect our waterways from pollution. The ban builds on a raft of actions already taken to protect our waterways and hold water companies accountable—including accelerating investment, putting water company fines back into the environment and quadrupling the number of inspections of water company sites.”

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