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

Section 4: Additional implementation considerations

Enforcement, compliance and monitoring

Following the consultation, Scottish Ministers will introduce secondary legislation under section 140 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, which was previously used to draft the Environmental Protection (Microbeads) (Scotland) Regulations 2018, legislation which was also undertaken across the UK.

The success of the policy (Option 1) is dependent on compliance from all parts of the supply chain, excluding those exempted. Based on discussions with The Association of Chief Trading Standards Officers (ACTSO), a 1% non-compliance rate from retail stores in scope (approximately 74,000 across the UK) is assumed. This reflects that many of the businesses in scope will have already shifted away from using the banned items (for example, we estimate that 62% of wet wipes sold to consumers are already plastic-free) and that the notion of a ban on wet wipes containing plastic has been in the public domain for several years.

The assumption within the policy is that limited enforcement is required to achieve a high level or total compliance. Enforcement will be undertaken by Trading Standards Scotland through Local Authorities. Trading Standards Scotland are likely to take a reactive approach to enforcement i.e. an intelligence-based approach. Sanctions will consist of fines.

Existing data sources will be used to monitor the number of plastic wet wipes on sale in the UK following the implementation of the ban in Scotland and across the whole UK, excluding those for exempted purposes. The number of plastic wipes on sale is the key objective of this policy and will be used as a proxy to assess the broader outcomes; namely the reduction as a source of marine litter, and the reduction in micro and nano plastics being released into the environment. We will utilise existing data sources to monitor these outputs and outcomes. Defra intends to recommission research into the proportion of wet wipes on the UK market that are plastic, in order to produce a post-implementation review. The modelling of disposal of wipes can therefore be repeated and compared to the UK figures prior to the ban.

UK, EU and international regulatory alignment and obligations

Intra-UK trade

The Scottish Government, UK Government, Welsh Government, and the Northern Ireland Executive have all taken the decision to proceed with legislation to ban the supply and sale of wet wipes containing plastic across the UK (Option 1). From the point each separate piece of the legislation is passed, there will be an 18-month transition period to allow manufacturers adequate time to transition to producing plastic-free wet wipes.

Each of the four nations is bringing in legislation of the same scope and intent, with the same transition period. Therefore there will be a level playing field regarding intra-UK trade. Through stakeholder engagement and the consultation, manufacturers and retailers informed us that if a ban came in to force their preference would be that it was a UK-wide ban. These proposed regulations are not considered a challenge under the UK Internal Market Act 2020 as a consequence of this joint approach across the UK, but will be subject to this Act until the final nation’s transition period has concluded.

International trade implications

Through the consultation, businesses expressed concern that a ban on manufacturing for export could lead to significant loss in competitiveness for UK business in international markets with little to no environmental gain, as manufacturing of wet wipes containing plastic would still occur in other countries. The specifics of the ban outlined in this BRIA (Option 1) will allow businesses to maintain competitiveness abroad (through allowing the export of wet wipes containing plastic) while maintaining a level playing field in the UK market, through ensuring all wet wipe manufacturers producing for the UK consumer market face the same rules on plastic content.

Regarding domestic production, the majority of wet wipes sold in the UK are manufactured in the UK rather than imported into the UK. Valpak estimates that approximately 2.5% of consumer wet wipes sold in the UK were imported in 2021^[33]. We know that several large manufacturers with substantial UK market share are based in the UK. For example, Nice-Pak claim to produce “well over half” of baby wipes (the largest consumer category) sold in the UK^[34], which suggests they produce at least 30% of UK consumer wet wipes. Other large manufacturers also produce wet wipes in the UK.

From engagement with industry regarding imports, we understand that most wet wipes containing plastic that are imported, are imported from Turkey, Israel and China. Many of these imported wet wipes are for industrial or medical purposes and therefore fall under the exemptions outlined in this BRIA, and could continue to be imported, supplied and sold for those industrial or medical purposes. Therefore there should not be a significant impact on trade for wet wipes containing plastic sold and supplied for those purposes.

Regarding exports, stakeholders have advised that a significant amount of wet wipes produced in the UK are exported. Of those manufacturers that provided this information through consultation responses, the majority expressed that around 20-50% of wet wipes produced were for export. This includes large UK manufacturers. The central estimate in the analysis is that wet wipe exports by UK producers equates to around £1 billion in sales value. However, this policy (Option 1) does not propose to ban the manufacture of wet wipes for export.

Some retailers have already voluntarily removed wet wipes containing plastic from their shelves. The Scottish Government has implemented various other single-use plastic bans and restrictions since 2018, including on microbeads in certain cosmetic products, cotton buds, and on single-use plastic cutlery, drink stirrers, plates, straws, and other items. We understand these have been introduced without any trade implications or challenges, as per the due process of introducing any market restrictions, we also undertook World Trade Organization (WTO) notification to gather any additional information, none of which impeded the laying of regulations. This ban on wet wipes containing plastic can be seen as a continuation of those measures.

EU alignment consideration

A ban on wet wipes containing plastic would go further than current EU policy in this area, and is certainly not deviating from this. The Scottish Government is committed to matching or exceeding the standards set out by the EU Single-Use Plastics Directive. Current EU policy requires EU Member States, through this Directive, to implement marking requirements and extended producer responsibility for wet wipes for personal and domestic use.

Legal aid

It is not expected that the ban on plastic in wet wipes will have any impact on the current level of use that an individual makes to access justice through legal aid or on the possible expenditure from the legal aid fund. This is because any legal decision impacted by the proposed legislation will largely affect businesses rather than individuals.

Digital impact

Approximately 97% of consumer wet wipes placed on the UK market in 2021 were produced domestically. The proposed ban would be applicable to both offline and online sales, and to sales both within the UK and from international sources. The proposed ban would cover the supply and sale of these goods. The Scottish Government has notified the WTO under the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Agreement. The notification period will inform potential exporters in other countries that businesses and customers in Scotland would be unable to purchase their products for use or supply at the point legislation is enabled.

Business forms

It is not intended that a ban (Option 1) would result in the introduction of new business forms.