Scottish Water has welcomed the publication by the Scottish Government of new regulations which will ban the sale and supply of wet wipes containing plastic in Scotland from 11 August 2027.

The regulations use powers under the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

The move is part of wider action to protect Scotland’s environment and marine waters and includes a transition period for businesses to help them prepare.

Wet wipes containing plastic are a common and persistent source of marine litter and can break down into microplastics over time, harming the natural environment.

The ban follows a UK-wide consultation in 2023, which found overwhelming public support for the proposals, with over 93% of respondents agreeing or strongly agreeing to the move.

Catherine Gemmell, Policy and Advocacy Manager at the Marine Conservation Society, said the organisation’s volunteers had consistently found huge numbers of wet wipes along Scotland’s coastline, with some beaches recording thousands.

Welcoming the new regulations, Alex Plant, Scottish Water’s Chief Executive, Alex Plant, said:

“This ban will help us tackle one of the biggest challenges we face - responding to and clearing around 35,000 blockages every year in our sewers, at a cost of about £10 million, largely due to wet wipes wrongly flushed down toilets.

“Scottish Water's Nature Calls campaign has led the way in making the case for a ban - and encourages everyone to bin wet wipes and stick to the 3Ps - flushing only pee, poo and toilet paper.

"We are also calling on the UK Government for mandatory responsible 'do not flush' labelling for all bathroom products that risk being wrongly disposed of to sewers, and an end to misleading environmental claims on packaging to reduce customer confusion and reinforce the correct disposal option. This issue is reserved and the critical next step to reduce blockages further and prevent environmental harm.”

Gillian Martin, Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Energy, said the Scottish Government will continue to call on the UK Government to address issues such as misleading claims on product packaging, which can lead to incorrect disposal of items such as wet wipes.