Petition · past parliament · Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Ban the sale of plastic wet wipes; affordable alternatives are widely available
Closed
3,955 signatures
What the petition asks
Government should ban the sale of baby and personal care wipes containing plastic in the UK by April 2022. Following DEFRA’s ban on single-use plastic straws, cotton buds and stirrers, wet wipes containing plastic should also be phased out and replaced with plastic-free, sustainable alternatives.
90% of the 11bn wipes sold in the UK contain plastic. They take 100+ years to degrade, leaving microplastics. Single-use plastic wipes are also behind 93% of sewer-clogging fatbergs, costing the taxpayer millions of pounds annually, and are the third most common marine litter item in the UK. Microplastic filters into our food chain and has even been found inside human placentas, potentially causing foetal damage. Government intervention is needed to drive forward change that is happening too slowly.
Timeline
| 5 May 2021 | Petition opened for signatures |
| 5 Nov 2021 | Closed to new signatures |
Key facts
Signatures
3,955
Status
Closed
Department
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Opened
5 May 2021
Closed
5 Nov 2021
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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.