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

7. Monitoring

Section 19 of the 2005 Act requires the Responsible Authority to monitor significant environmental effects arising as a result of the implementation of a plan, programme or strategy. The purpose of the monitoring is to identify any unforeseen adverse effects at an early stage and to enable appropriate remedial action to be taken.

In order to ensure the intended benefits of a ban are being realised, the SEA proposed the following monitoring:

• Beach litter monitoring – beach survey data from organisations such as the Marine Conservation Society can be used to monitor changes in numbers of wet wipes found on Scottish beaches following the implementation of the proposed ban.
• Regional trends – data analyses by Marine Directorate can be used to demonstrate changes of numbers of wet wipes found on Scottish beaches over time.