The UK Government has stepped up action to tackle harmful plastics and clean up England’s waterways by challenging producers of wet wipes to address concerns over how they label their products.
Environment Secretary Thérèse Coffey has written to wet wipes producers setting out her concerns about the number of wet wipes that are flushed down UK toilets – between 2.1 – 2.9 billion each year – and has asked them to reconsider the use of the word ‘flushable’ on packaging to help prevent sewer blockages and water pollution.
Wet wipes contribute to 94 percent of sewer blockages, which can lead to damage to properties and can result in sewage-related litter entering the environment.
It is estimated that water companies spend £100m each year dealing with this. The Environment Secretary has told producers that labels saying ‘flushable’ or ‘fine to flush’ may encourage consumers to dispose of wipes down the toilet, rather than disposing of them responsibly in the bin.
Wet wipes producers have now been asked to set out how they will address these concerns.
Lat week (26 May) Water Minister Rebecca Pow attended a summit in Paris, where the UK, alongside 52 other members of the High Ambition Coalition (HAC) to End Plastic Pollution (HAC), has signed a far-reaching Joint Ministerial Statement that calls for a range of mandatory provisions to be included in the global plastic pollution treaty, currently under negotiation.
Water Minister, Rebecca Pow said: “It is vital that producers are more transparent with their guidance on flushability, as ultimately wet wipes that are dumped down the toilet can cause damage to our environment and water quality.
“This is alongside the wider action we’re taking on water quality, including tougher enforcement for water companies, more investment and tighter regulation to stop pollution happening in the first place.”
This action follows on from commitments made in the UK government’s Plan for Water to write to producers and advertising authorities about using the word ‘flushable’ on wet wipes packaging.
The Plan for Water also committed to a public consultation on the proposal to ban wet wipes containing plastic, responding to public calls to tackle the blight of plastic in our waterways and building on recent action from major retailers including Boots and Tesco. The government will work with industry and making sure plastic-free alternatives are always available to the public.
These plans build on the Westminster Government’s previous efforts to eliminate avoidable plastic waste, including:
- One of the world’s toughest bans on microbeads in rinse-off personal care products announced in 2018
- Restrictions on the supply of single-use plastic straws, drink stirrers and cotton buds in 2020.
- Plastic Packaging Tax in April 2022 – a tax of £200 per tonne on plastic packaging manufactured in, or imported into the UK, that does not contain at least 30% recycled plastic.
Following the huge success of the 5p single-use carrier bag charge, in May 2021 the UK Government also increased the minimum charge to 10p and extended it to all retailers, taking billions of bags out of circulation.
Earlier this month water and sewage companies in England apologised for sewage spills and launched a ‘massive transformation programme’ following growing public anger over polluted rivers and waterways while the water companies continue to enjoy massive profits.
- £10 billion – more than triple current levels – ready to be invested in a new National Overflows Plan, enabling the biggest modernisation of sewers since the Victorian era, and the most ambitious programme on sewage spills in the world.
- A new Environmental hub, launching next year, will for the first time give everyone near real-time information on overflows, as well as the state of our rivers and coastal waters.
- Companies will also support up to 100 communities to create new protected waters for swimming and recreation.
Water and sewage companies in England have today (18 May) apologised for not acting quickly enough on sewage spills. To put things right, industry plans to make the largest ever investment in storm overflows as part of a major programme to reduce spills into rivers and seas.
In addition, a new national environmental hub with information on all 15,000 overflows in the country will increase transparency and allow the public to hold companies to account.
The industry’s plan includes the following three commitments:
1. Accelerating progress
We are today confirming companies’ readiness to invest what is needed to deliver the ambition set out in the Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan. This could involve additional funding of £10 billion this decade, more than tripling (and adding to) current levels of investment of £3.1bn 2020-25. If approved by regulators, we expect that, by 2030, through this initial wave of investment will will aim to cut sewage overflows by up to 140,000 each year compared to the level in 2020. This will kick-off the first wave of a massive transformation programme across 350,000 miles of sewer (a length that would stretch 14 times round the world).
Water companies across the country will aim to:
- Install the equivalent of thousands of new Olympic swimming pools to hold surges in rainwater that would otherwise overload the system;
- Increase the capacity of sewage treatment works, allowing them to treat higher volumes of rainfall and sewage;
- Replace concrete with grass and ponds to reduce rainfall run-off entering sewers, protecting them against the overloading that causes spills;
- Treat overflow spills so they have much less impact on the river, including through reed beds, wetlands and other nature-friendly projects; and
- Improve the sewer network by enlarging and improving pipes, allowing them to safely carry more sewage during peak times, and fixing misconnected pipes from properties.
A detailed National Overflows Plan will be published later this summer, explaining each companies’ approach to improving their overflows. This will include when improvements can be expected, and (as projects are developed) how improvements will be delivered and the expected results. For the first time, communities across the country will be able to find out exactly when overflows in their area will be improved and be able to hold their water and sewerage company to account.
2. More transparency to improve accountability
Water and sewage companies will collaborate on creating, by this time next year, a new independently-overseen National Environment Data Hub to provide the public with up-to-date information on the operation of all 15,000 sewage overflows in England. For the first time in the world, any member of the public will be able to get national ‘near real time’ (within the hour) information on what is happening, building on the requirement on individual companies set out in the Government’s world-leading Environment Act.
This will strengthen accountability, help the public to track progress and empower swimmers and others with the information they need. In addition, as thousands of new river quality monitors come online (planned to be installed from 2025 onwards), this additional data will also be added to the Hub to let people see the real-world impact on rivers.
3. Supporting new bathing rivers
Water and sewage companies will help up to 100 communities interested in protecting rivers and other outdoor areas of water (like lakes and reservoirs) for the purpose of swimming and recreation. Each water and sewage company in England will also support the roll-out of new river swimming areas, by providing help to up to 100 communities to test the water, draw up plans, apply for legal protection, and work with regulators to fix local sources of pollution.
Industry will also develop guidance and toolkits and support citizen scientists to help local groups navigate what can be a burdensome process.
Ruth Kelly, Chair of Water UK, said: “The message from the water and sewage industry today is clear: we are sorry. More should have been done to address the issue of spillages sooner and the public is right to be upset about the current quality of our rivers and beaches.
“We have listened and have an unprecedented plan to start to put it right. This problem cannot be fixed overnight, but we are determined to do everything we can to transform our rivers and seas in the way we all want to see.”
Unlike England, Scotland’s water remains in public ownership.