Ban on the supply and sale of wet wipes containing plastic: Final Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment

Section 1: Background, aims and options

Background

This Final Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA) follows the joint UK-wide public consultation on wet wipes containing plastic, which was accessible from 14 October to 25 November 2023^[1]. Following overwhelming support demonstrated through the consultation, the Scottish Government, alongside the other nations in the UK, will implement a ban on the supply and sale of wet wipes containing plastic^[2]. This will be undertaken due to the negative environmental impacts associated with single-use plastic products, incorrect disposal, and the fact that alternatives to wet wipes containing plastic are readily available. The ban could cause some costs to business and government through transition and enforcement costs, as well as to plastic wet wipe producers through a potential reduction of profits and a reduction in choice for consumers.

Objective

The Scottish Government intends to ban the supply and sale of wet wipes containing plastic. The objective is to reduce this source of single-use plastic litter, and reduce the negative impacts posed if these items are incorrectly disposed of and arrive in the environment. To help tackle plastic waste, the governments of the UK nations have already delivered multiple legislative and policy measures, with more planned, including this ban on wet wipes containing plastic.

The Scottish Government, UK Government, Welsh Government, and Northern Ireland Executive have already banned the manufacture, supply and sale of microbeads in rinse-off personal care products^[3].

The Scottish Government, UK Government, and Welsh Government have all legislated to restrict the supply of single-use plastic products. In Scotland, in June 2022, it became an offence to manufacture and supply single-use plastic cutlery, drink stirrers, plates, and polystyrene cups and food containers, and an offence to supply single-use plastic straws and balloon sticks^[4]. In England, a ban on single-use plastic plates, trays, bowls, cutlery, balloon sticks, and certain types of polystyrene cups and food containers was introduced in October 2023^[5]. In Wales, also in October 2023, it became a criminal offence to supply or offer to supply plastic plates, cutlery, polystyrene cups and takeaway food containers, drink stirrers, balloon sticks, and drinking straws^[6].

Defra also supports the Water UK communications campaign to ‘Bin the Wipe’^[7] and has written to the relevant producers and advertising authorities regarding the inappropriate labelling of wet wipes as ‘flushable’.

Purpose and intended effect

There is strong support in favour of a ban on wet wipes containing plastic.

In October 2020 the Scottish Government launched a public consultation on items listed under Article 5 of the EU Single-Use Plastics Directive. Responses from this consultation supported the development of legislation banning some of the most problematic single-use plastic products, as noted above. Responses also provided evidence for further policy development, with 94% in favour of market restrictions on additional single-use plastic products, including wet wipes containing plastic^[8].

In Defra’s 2021 public Call for Evidence on commonly littered single-use plastic items, 96% of respondents supported a potential ban on wet wipes containing plastic. Defra published a response to the Call for Evidence in February 2023^[9].

In a survey published by Water UK in 2023, 22% of people admitted to flushing wet wipes (composed of any material) down the toilet, despite 88% of people in the UK saying they are aware wet wipes can harm the environment^[10].

In the joint UK-wide consultation on wet wipes in 2023, over 93% of respondents supported a ban on the supply and sale of wet wipes containing plastic^[11].

Wet wipes containing plastic contribute to plastic pollution in our waters through incorrect disposal via toilets by consumers, or through littering. Wet wipes containing plastic produce microplastics when they break down. The term ‘microplastics’ encompasses a wide range of synthetic particles of varying sizes, shapes, and composition and when released into the environment pose potential health risks to humans, wildlife, and the wider environment.

These negative outcomes associated with wet wipes containing plastic are examples of negative externalities, as the user of the wipe does not directly face the costs of their action (i.e. the pollution). The market does not price in these negative impacts, hence these are not fully accounted for by actors in the economy when manufacturing, selling, consuming, and disposing of wet wipes containing plastic. The existence of negative externalities such as these ultimately leads to a higher than optimum consumption of such products by society. This is a market failure and requires government intervention.

Stakeholder engagement has highlighted that the market is moving towards reducing the manufacture, supply and sale of wet wipes containing plastic. Several retailers and producers have already made voluntary commitments to stop producing or selling wet wipes that contain plastic, showing that it is possible and commercially viable. As a result, there are suitable non-plastic wet wipe substitutes currently available, including moist toilet tissue and baby wipes.

Whilst the market is partially addressing the problem and businesses have innovated to develop plastic-free wet wipes, evidence suggests that the pace of transition across the industry as a whole will remain slow in the absence of government intervention. Additionally, there is no guarantee that this current level of voluntary action will be sustained or increased in the future. Responses to the consultation indicate that 38% of wet wipes sold contain plastic and suggest that only half (53%) of manufacturers have plans to cease manufacturing wet wipes containing plastic within the next five years. The urgency to reduce consumption of unnecessary single-use plastic items means Scottish Government needs to take action to achieve this goal.

Some stakeholders highlighted concerns via the consultation that suitable alternatives did not exist in some circumstances, such as in medical settings and certain industries, for example where the strength provided by plastic is a necessary feature and is not currently available through other materials. Scottish Government therefore intends to exempt from the ban business-to-business sales, including use in medical settings. Stakeholders have informed us these wipes make up around 20% of those sold in the UK. However, in the case of wet wipes on sale to the general public, as plastic-free alternatives are already widely available for many products, a ban is still considered the preferred route.

We acknowledge that some consumers may have a genuine need for wet wipes containing plastic for medical care purposes, therefore we intend to include an exemption which will allow for such wet wipes to be sold in pharmacies. Wet wipes containing plastic will not be permitted for sale on the shelves, and members of the public who require these products for medical purposes will need to specifically request these from a pharmacist.

We are aware of the economic impacts that the ban could have. We are therefore allowing an 18-month transition period in order to reduce manufacturer and retailer transition costs, as well as to allow sufficient time to sell remaining stock of wet wipes containing plastic and to transition to producing plastic-free wet wipes.

Plastic-free wet wipes are readily available, and we understand that for many producers, shifting to producing plastic-free wipes will require few changes to the manufacturing process. 68% of manufacturers that responded to the consultation informed us that the same machinery could be used to produce both wet wipes containing plastic and those that are plastic-free.

The ban will relate to the supply and sale of wet wipes containing plastic, with medical and industrial exemptions, in Scotland. For the purposes of the ban, a wet wipe will be defined as the following: “ A wet wipe is a piece of pre-moistened or pre-wetted non-woven material which is conceived, designed and placed on the market for single-use (disposable) and intended for personal care e.g., personal hygiene or domestic use e.g., household cleaning purposes. Prewetted wipes typically contain an impregnation liquid which has been added to the wipe before it is placed on the market.”

For the purposes of the ban, ‘plastic’ will be defined using the UK REACH definition: "a material consisting of polymer to which additives or other substances may have been added, and which can function as a main structural component of final products, with the exception of natural polymers that have not been chemically modified”. The UK REACH definition is internationally recognised and is consistent with the definition used in The Environmental Protection (Single-use Plastic Products) (Scotland) Regulations 2021.

Options

Option 1 – introduce a ban on the supply and sale of wet wipes containing plastic, with exemptions for industry and medical purposes

Wet wipes containing plastic do not fully disintegrate in water or in the sewerage system if they are flushed down the toilet. If these wipes arrive in the environment they are a persistent and problematic source of marine litter.

We consider that the reduced risk of harm that would result from a ban on the supply and sale of wet wipes containing plastic will potentially provide environmental benefits for the marine ecosystem as a whole, the species and habitats contained within, and benefits to water quality.

If a ban were introduced this would contribute to efforts by the Scottish and UK governments to work toward Good Environmental Status (GES) under the UK Marine Strategy, and contribute to other commitments to protect the marine environment.

Option 2 – reasonable alternatives (non-regulatory option)

Business and public behaviour change measures have not solved the current issue. Wet wipes containing plastic are still manufactured, they are still purchased, they are still disposed of down toilets and are littered, and are an increasing source of beach litter. Sales of some wet wipe products are growing.

Alternative measures to reduce this form of pollution have failed, including:

• The inability of the market to move customers to plastic-free alternatives despite their availability,
• The lack of implementation of a voluntary plastic-free, flushable industry standard across manufacturers, and the fact that this scheme came to an end in March 2024,
• The failure of several multi-year behaviour change campaigns to stop inappropriate flushing of products, and
• Labelling of some products as ‘flushable’ or ‘do not flush’ causing confusion for the consumer, as these labels are voluntary, and are not consistently applied across all available products. Labelling is a reserved power, it is not within the power of the Scottish Government to enforce companies to brand products with ‘do not flush’ labels.

On this basis, we do not consider that there are any reasonable alternatives to the proposed ban on the supply and sale of wet wipes containing plastic. Without the proposed ban, commitments made by the Scottish and UK governments to work toward GES under the UK Marine Strategy, and other commitments to protect the marine environment, are likely to be negatively impacted.

Option 3 – business as usual, no policy change

Without the proposed ban on the supply and sale of wet wipes containing plastic, the current negative impacts on the environment will be likely to continue, if not to deteriorate further. Business and public behaviour change measures implemented to date have not altered the situation, and the use of wet wipes has increased due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Certain manufacturers have produced wet wipes that do not contain plastic and met the (now withdrawn) Fine to Flush standard, but these are generally restricted to moist toilet tissue wipes, and there is no incentive or push to change the formulation of other types of wet wipe. Only a ban on the supply and sale of wet wipes containing plastic will result in manufacturers changing to produce non-plastic wet wipes.

Without the proposed ban, wet wipes containing plastic will continue to be flushed down the toilet and littered, posing a threat to species, habitats, and overall biodiversity. Wet wipes that arrive in water bodies or in the sea will break down into micro and nano plastics, causing pollution and reducing the water quality status, which in turn will affect the species and habitats within the water body. Without the proposed ban, commitments made by the Scottish and UK governments to work toward GES under the UK Marine Strategy, and other commitments to protect the marine environment, are likely to be negatively impacted.

Preferred option – Option 1

The non-regulatory option has been disregarded. Evidence of the voluntary uptake, use and effectiveness of existing non-regulatory action indicates that regulatory action is needed. The policy aims to ban the supply and sale of wet wipes containing plastic, with exemptions for industry and medical purposes, hence Option 1 is the preferred route.

Sectors and groups affected

The whole population of Scotland is likely to be affected by the proposed ban, whether directly or indirectly, as protecting and improving the health of our environment and oceans is of benefit to all. The proposed ban is intended to apply across Scotland and does not specifically target particular groups, geographical locations, or sections of society.

Consumers may be impacted initially by a reduction in product choices as wet wipes containing plastic are removed from the market. This impact is expected to reduce over time as some producers switch to producing wet wipes that do not contain plastic. Evidence from commissioned work suggests that there is not a significant retail price difference between wet wipes that contain plastic and those that do not. Therefore, we do not expect there to be any direct price impacts on consumers over the long term. Furthermore, stakeholder engagement has indicated that retailers have not received negative feedback from customers regarding alternative products to wet wipes that contain plastic.

It is assumed that any additional costs to businesses resulting from the ban will be internalised by those businesses. However, it is possible that businesses will pass some, or all, of these costs onto consumers. Depending on the price elasticity of demand for wet wipes, and the substitutability between plastic and plastic-free wet wipes, higher prices could lead to lower demand. However, we have assumed that cumulative demand for wet wipes would not decease and there will be no drop in overall consumption of wet wipes as a result of the ban. This assumption is based upon the following factors: any price rises are estimated to be relatively small; wet wipes are often seen a necessary product (particularly baby wipes, which make up 60% of the consumer market); plastic-free wet wipes are 100% substitutable for wet wipes containing plastic (at least for consumer wipes); and we know that low price plastic-free wet wipes are already commonly sold by retailers^[12] (allowing customers to move to a lower cost alternative if the cost of their current product of choice increases).

Option 1 would affect the population in a positive way, as a ban would help to protect our environment and water quality, as well as benefit our communities, economy, health and wellbeing. Over the long term, there will be no loss of product choice to consumers as plastic-free wet wipes will be available, and direct price impacts on consumers are not expected. Businesses (manufacturers and retailers) that have not already made the switch to only producing or selling plastic-free wet wipes will incur some transition costs. However, cumulative demand for and sales of wet wipes are not anticipated to decrease.

Option 2 will affect the population in a negative way, as reasonable alternatives to a ban have been shown not to make a discernible difference, and therefore the negative impacts from this single-use plastic item would continue.

Option 3 will affect the population in a negative way, as the situation would not improve, and may deteriorate, and therefore the negative impacts from this single-use plastic item would continue.