Plastic wet wipes to be banned in Scotland from next year

The sale and supply of wet wipes containing plastic in Scotland will be banned from next year, the Scottish Government has announced.

The Government says the wipes are a common and persistent source of marine litter, as it published new regulations on Friday.

The move is part of wider action to protect Scotland’s environment and marine waters, and includes a transition period for businesses to help them prepare.

The measures, to be introduced on August 11, 2027, will include exemptions for medical and industrial uses as well as business-to-business sales.

Members of the public who require specific wet wipes containing plastic for medical or healthcare reasons will also be able to request these from a pharmacy, the Government said.

A ban will be introduced in all four nations of the UK, following a UK-wide consultation which was held in 2023.

Climate sction secretary Gillian Martin said: “Wet wipes containing plastic are an unnecessary single-use item, for which more environmentally friendly alternatives already exist.

“As with all single-use items, it is vital they are disposed of correctly, otherwise they become a problematic source of marine litter and a threat to the health of our environment and wildlife.

“This ban delivers on an important commitment made in our Marine Litter Strategy and builds on previous actions to ban unnecessary single-use plastic items such as plastic-stemmed cotton buds, plastic straws, cutlery and single-use vapes.

“These policies are all proof of the progress we are making towards protecting our environment and creating a more circular economy. In addition, we will continue to call on the UK Government to address issues such as misleading claims on product packaging which can lead to incorrect disposal of items such as wet wipes.”

Scottish Water chief executive, Alex Plant, said: “This ban will help us tackle one of the biggest challenges we face – responding to and clearing around 35,000 blockages every year in our sewers, at a cost of about £10m, largely due to wet wipes wrongly flushed down toilets.

“Scottish Water’s Nature Calls campaign has led the way in making the case for a ban – and encourages everyone to bin wet wipes and stick to the 3Ps – flushing only pee, poo and toilet paper.”