Government publishes draft legislation for wet wipe ban

The ban was announced in April last year following a consultation in which 95% of respondents supported the move.

The regulations will come into force 18 months after the date on which they are approved by Parliament.

While this legislation will only apply to England, plastic-containing wet wipes will be banned across the UK.

When the ban was announced, former environment secretary, Steve Barclay, said: “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.”

The Environmental Protection (Wet Wipes Containing Plastic) (England) Regulations 2025 aim to restrict the supply and sale of plastic-containing wet wipes, with exemptions for industrial and medical use.

Those who are caught selling plastic-containing wet wipes without a valid exemption will be subject to a £200 fine.

Following consultation with industry, the ban will not include the manufacture of these products, in line with other recent single-use plastic bans.

However, the governments of all four UK nations will continue to encourage manufacturers to move to a position where all their wet wipes are plastic free.

The legislation was supported by evidence provided by the Valpak consultancy team which found that wet wipe usage in the UK is significantly higher than previously recorded.

An estimated 30.5 billion are put on the market yearly, compared to earlier estimates of 11 billion.

James Skidmore, director of consulting at Valpak, said: “We’re extremely proud to see our insights contributing to national policy.

“Accurate data is the foundation of effective regulation. By helping to build a clearer picture of wet wipe usage, we’ve supported stronger, evidence-based proposals.”