From October 2027, the UK will ban the sale of wet wipes that contain plastic fibres. That covers the vast majority of conventional wet wipes currently on shelves — baby wipes, facial wipes, household cleaning wipes — if they're made with polyester, polypropylene, or any other synthetic fibre. Wipes made entirely from natural materials like cotton or viscose are not affected by the ban.
What exactly is being banned — and when?
The ban is brought in under the Environmental Protection (Plastic-containing Wet Wipes) (England) Regulations, with enforcement beginning October 2027 in England. Similar provisions are expected across Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland under devolved legislation, though the exact timing varies.
The legislation targets any wet wipe where the substrate (the sheet itself) contains plastic fibres. That means:
- Banned: wipes made with polyester, polypropylene, nylon, or any blend that includes synthetic fibres — even partially
- Also banned: wipes marketed as "biodegradable" or "compostable" if they still contain plastic-derived fibres such as PLA (polylactic acid). PLA is a plant-derived plastic, but it is still plastic — and it will not be exempt
- Not banned: wipes made from 100% natural fibres — cotton, viscose, lyocell, or similar — with no synthetic content
The ban covers sale in England, which means retailers and brands have until that date to clear or reformulate their ranges.
Why are plastic-fibre wipes being banned?
Two reasons: sewers and oceans.
Wet wipes are the single largest component of sewer blockages in the UK. Water UK estimates wipes contribute to around 300,000 sewer blockages every year, costing roughly £100 million to clear. Most of that is because wipes don't break down — plastic fibres hold the sheet together indefinitely underwater, exactly as designed. They snag on grease, bind with other debris, and build into the fatbergs that make the news every few years.
Once they make it past the sewers — through misuse, flooding, or via storm overflows — plastic-fibre wipes break down into microplastics that enter rivers, coastal waters, and the food chain. A wipe that takes decades to fragment and leaves plastic behind at every stage isn't a hygiene product; it's a slow pollution event.
The ban is a direct response to campaigning by water companies, environmental groups, and the Marine Conservation Society, who have been collecting wipes on beaches and riverbanks for years.
Does this affect flushable wipes too?
Yes — if they contain plastic fibres, they'll be banned regardless of the "flushable" label. The word "flushable" has no legally protected meaning in the UK, which is part of the problem. Plenty of wipes currently sold as flushable contain synthetic fibres and simply don't break down quickly enough to avoid causing blockages.
Genuinely flushable wipes — the kind designed to disperse rapidly in water, made without plastic fibres — are not caught by the ban. But if you're unsure whether a product qualifies, check the ingredients list rather than the front-of-pack claim. If you can see polyester, polypropylene, viscose-polyester blend, or PLA in the substrate, it fails.
(A note on most wipes: even after the ban, the vast majority of wet wipes — including most that will remain legal — should not be flushed. Unless a product is specifically designed and tested to break down in water, it belongs in the bin.)
What about bamboo wipes — are they affected?
Possibly. "Bamboo" on the front of a pack tells you the raw material source, not the fibre composition. Bamboo can be processed into viscose, which is a natural-derived fibre and would not be caught by the ban. But many bamboo wipes also contain polyester binders to hold the sheet together during use — and those would be banned.
If a bamboo wipe's ingredient list shows any synthetic fibre, it falls under the ban. If it's 100% bamboo-derived viscose with no synthetic content, it doesn't. The front of the pack alone won't tell you — you need to read the full fibre composition.
What should you buy instead?
Wipes made from 100% natural fibres — cotton is the most common. These are already widely available; the ban isn't introducing a new category of product, it's removing the ones that shouldn't have been here.
When you're reading labels, look for:
- 100% cotton — the clearest statement; no synthetic content possible
- 100% viscose or 100% lyocell — both natural-derived, both fine
- No mention of polyester, polypropylene, PLA, or "plastic-free" without a fibre breakdown — if the brand won't tell you what the sheet is made from, that's a reason to look elsewhere
We've never used plastic fibres in dinky wipes — not polyester, not polypropylene, not PLA — so the ban doesn't change anything for us. Our sensitive wipes are 100% cotton, fragrance free, and have been ban-proof since day one. Same goes for the antibacterial and flushable versions. We're not reformulating; we just never built the problem in.
Will prices go up after the ban?
Probably, at least for some brands. Synthetic fibres are cheap to produce at scale; natural fibre substrates typically cost more. Brands reformulating under pressure rather than by choice may pass those costs on, or reduce sheet size to offset them.
That said, the market for plastic-free wipes has grown substantially in recent years, which has brought costs down. The premium over conventional wipes is smaller than it was five years ago, and is likely to narrow further as natural-fibre production scales up ahead of 2027.
Will the ban actually fix the fatberg problem?
Partially. Removing plastic fibres from wipes will reduce the volume of persistent material entering sewers. But fatbergs also form from cooking fat, food waste, and other debris — wipes just give them structure and scale. And the behaviour problem — people flushing wipes they shouldn't — will persist beyond 2027 unless it's addressed directly.
The ban is a meaningful improvement, not a complete solution. Water companies are lobbying for better labelling, clearer bin messaging, and continued public education alongside the legislation. All of which is worth supporting.
Common questions
When exactly does the UK wet wipe ban start?
The ban on selling plastic-fibre wet wipes in England takes effect in October 2027. The exact dates for Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland are being legislated separately and may differ slightly, but equivalent measures are expected across all four nations.
Are "biodegradable" wipes exempt from the ban?
No. If a biodegradable wipe contains plastic fibres — including PLA, which is plant-derived but still a plastic — it is covered by the ban. Biodegradable is a claim about how a material eventually breaks down; it doesn't exempt a product from the plastic-fibre regulations. Look for wipes that state 100% natural fibre content, not just "biodegradable" on the front.
How do I know if my current wipes contain plastic fibres?
Check the ingredients or fibre composition on the pack. Look for polyester, polypropylene, nylon, PLA, or any term ending in "-ester" or "-propylene" in the substrate description. If the pack doesn't list fibre composition at all, contact the brand directly — any reputable manufacturer should be able to tell you what their wipe sheet is made from.
Originally published at dinky wipes
