Ban on the supply and sale of wet wipes containing plastic: Strategic Environmental Assessment Post-Adoption Statement

1. Background

The Marine Strategy Regulations 2010 are the main driver for addressing the problem of marine and coastal litter within Scotland and the UK as a whole. The Scottish Government has commitments under the UK Marine Strategy to collaborate with the other UK administrations to assess, monitor, and publish a programme of measures the UK will use to support progress towards achieving Good Environmental Status (GES) for elements including marine litter^[1].

The Scottish Government will take necessary measures to protect and conserve the ecosystems and the biological diversity of UK territorial seas under the OSPAR Convention (the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment in the North-East Atlantic)^[2]. OSPAR is the Scottish Government's key regional platform for collaboration with neighbouring countries on marine biodiversity, where we participate as part of the UK.

Within the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010^[3], the management of marine litter falls under the scope of marine planning. The Scottish Government published an updated Marine Litter Strategy for Scotland^[4] in 2022 with actions focused on, amongst others, preventing litter entering the marine environment.

Wet wipes containing plastic are a type of single-use plastic item for which suitable alternatives exist. They are a prevalent and persistent marine litter item in Scotland and their numbers are increasing. Consumer behaviour is difficult to influence and change. Public behaviour campaigns generally only have a short-term impact. A more effective solution would be to remove inappropriate items from sale, where suitable alternatives exist.

The Scottish Government, alongside the UK Government, Welsh Government, and the Northern Ireland Executive published a joint consultation on a proposed ban on the manufacture, supply and sale of wet wipes containing plastic. The consultation ran for 6 weeks, from 14 October until 25 November 2023. The UK Government (Defra) conducted individual engagement interviews and stakeholder group sessions with relevant businesses prior to, during, and following the consultation period, including those based in Scotland.

Following consideration of all responses received via the consultation and through stakeholder engagement, the Scottish Government concluded that the preferred option to ban the supply and sale of wet wipes containing plastic is the most appropriate to achieve its aims. 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 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. Scottish Ministers will introduce secondary legislation under section 140 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

From the point each separate piece of the legislation is passed, there will be an 18-month transition period to give manufacturers and retailers time to prepare and transition to the parameters of the ban. There will be exemptions for medical and industrial wet wipes and business-to-business sales. Members of the public who have a genuine need for wet wipes containing plastic for medical care purposes will be able to obtain these on request from retail pharmacies.