The sale and supply of wet wipes containing plastic will be banned in Scotland from 11th of August 2027 under new regulations published on 16th of February 2026.
The move forms part of wider efforts to protect Scotland’s environment and marine waters, following growing concern over plastic pollution and microplastics.
Wet wipes containing plastic are a persistent source of marine litter and can break down into microplastics, causing harm to wildlife and the wider natural environment.
The regulations include a transition period to allow businesses time to prepare, with exemptions covering 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 still be able to request them from a pharmacy.
The ban will be introduced across all four nations of the UK after a 2023 consultation found more than 93% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed with the proposals.
Climate Action Secretary Gillian Martin said:
“Wet wipes containing plastic are an unnecessary single use item, for which more environmentally friendly alternatives already exist.
“As with all single use items, it is vital they are disposed of correctly, otherwise they become a problematic source of marine litter and a threat to the health of our environment and wildlife.
“This ban delivers on an important commitment made in our Marine Litter Strategy and builds on previous actions to ban unnecessary single use plastic items such as plastic stemmed cotton buds, plastic straws, cutlery and single use vapes.
“These policies are all proof of the progress we are making towards protecting our environment and creating a more circular economy.
“In addition, we 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.”
Scottish Water 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.”
Scottish Water estimates it responds to around 35,000 sewer blockages each year, many linked to incorrectly disposed wet wipes.
The new ban is intended to reduce environmental harm, protect marine waters and cut the financial and operational burden on wastewater systems.
