The sale and supply of wet wipes containing plastic in Scotland will be banned beginning August 11, 2027, joining other U.K. nations in an effort the protect the environment and marine waters. Wales will enact the ban December 18, 2026; Northern Ireland May 18, 2027 and England May 19, 2027.

All four nations are introducing bans of the same scope, intent and transition period ahead of enforcement dates.  All nations have kept in as close alignment of dates as possible given each separate Parliamentary timetable.

The measures will include exemptions for medical and industrial uses as well as business-to-business sales. Members of the public who require specific wet wipes containing plastic for medical or healthcare reasons will also be able to request these from a pharmacy.

The U.K. announced it would ban plastic wipes on a country-by-country basis in 2024 arguing that banning plastic-containing wipes would reduce plastic and microplastic pollution and reduce the volume of microplastics entering wastewater treatment sites when wrongly flushed.

“These policies are all proof of the progress we are making towards protecting our environment and creating a more circular economy,” says Climate Action Secretary Gillian Martin. “In addition, we will continue to call on the U.K. Government to address issues such as misleading claims on product packaging which can lead to incorrect disposal of items such as wet wipes.”

Scottish Water’s Nature Calls campaign, launched in February 2022, called for an effective ban on wipes containing plastic, an end to misleading “flushable” labelling and a national behavior change to encourage people to bin wipes and follow the 3Ps rule – only flush pee, poo and (toilet) paper.