Forum Topic

Campaign to ban wet wipes

I fully support Fleur Anderson's campaign to ban wet wipes, but with billions of disposable nappies going into landfill every year with an estimated degrade period of 500 years, I wonder why they are not being similarly targeted, especially as each nappy seems to demand the use of a plastic bag.

Janis Humberstone ● 1313d13 Comments

Exactly - don't presume you can flush - DON'T!

Philippa Bond ● 1310d

Thanks. I am a member so should have known about it !!

Janis Humberstone ● 1311d

Fleur Anderson is campaigning to ban the use of PLASTIC in the manufacture of wet wipes. She made it quite clear that as the mother of 4 children she is not calling for a total ban. Of course even biodegradable wet wipes should be binned not flushed.

Jane Carter ● 1311d

Yes, I agree, we used to use flannels and then we used wet wipes just when we were out and about.  You could leave a pack in the car or buggy just for emergencies for when we had failed to be prepared for going out...  Now it seems they are used all the time. :(I asked my son to look at a packet he had at home and they say they are biodegradable AND... DO NOT FLUSH.

Philippa Bond ● 1312d

They could use flannels which can then be washed just as towelling/reusable nappies are. Simples. Sometimes the old ways still work best.

Lucille Grant ● 1312d

Did you see that the Putney Society has a talk - that looks like a brilliant way to find out what happens to your waste and recycling.  A great chance to ask questions of the people who know the answers!

Philippa Bond ● 1312d

Don't worry, it goes to the Belvedere incinerator which is way past Greenwich, so we will just be polluting someone else's air.

Matt Palmer ● 1312d

Hmm I wonder what impact incineration has on air quality? As I will now have to pay £12.50 if I want to make a rare trip in my car and take stuff to the local tip,I would be pretty miffed if my rare car journey was subject to a charge, (in the interests of cleaning up the air we breathe) at the same time as Wandsworth Council was pumping out air polluting substances with impunity. Maybe they use technology which does not create any pollution? If not that would be yet another anomaly in the clean air debate, the other being that even though the ideal consequence of ULEZ is that we are persuaded to give up our cars altogether, pedestrians are prohibited from visiting the local tip.

Janis Humberstone ● 1312d

Don't forget that wet wipes aren't just used for babies where if it's a disposable nappy you can easily bin the wipes with it.  We've been asked by Thames Water to "Bin Don't Flush" wet wipes, make-up wipes, cotton wool, cotton wool buds and all the other things they find down the sewers and just flush Pee, Poo and Toilet Paper for quite a while.  We mustn't allow ourselves to be persuaded by heavy and pushy marketing and wishful thinking! It's the ones with plastic in them which are the worst of all.Did you see the pictures in the article on the front page?

Philippa Bond ● 1313d

It would seem there are bio-degradable versions which dont constitute single use plastic, so perhaps just outlaw the plastic ones.

Matt Palmer ● 1313d

I would address this differently, as I cannot imagine what would replace wet wipes for parents needing to remove vast quantities of sticky poo off babies’ bottoms, unless there are new, affordable products out there now.  Perhaps a more achievable target would be the wipes that are marketed as being ‘flushable’, or a campaign to encourage people to bin - rather than flush -  used wipes.  Banning wet wipes entirely would just make life a whole lot harder for carers of small children and I can’t see that being a vote-winner in Nappy Valley.  Good sentiment though, it would be good to have fewer of them going into the sewers.

Heather Christie ● 1313d

I agree it's a bit of a niche target but i guess it's because they specifically end up blocking our waterways/sewers etc. Any disposable nappies in Wandsworth will go straight to the incinerator as Wandsworth council doesn't send anything to landfill. Yummy.

Matt Palmer ● 1313d

Same reason as dog poo bags, who wants poo everywhere.

Barbara Stevens ● 1313d