Western Morning News

Retailer takes lead on curbing plastic waste clogging sewers and polluting seas

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BOOTS is to stop selling all wet wipes that contain plastic fibres by the end of the year – in a move which will help reduce waste along Westcountr­y coastlines and around the UK.

The pharmacy chain, which sold more than 800 million wet wipes in the last year, said it would replace plastic-based wipes with plantbased biodegrada­ble alternativ­es.

The move follows Boots reformulat­ing its own-brand wipe ranges to remove plastic.

A large proportion of the 11 billion wet wipes used in the UK every year still contain some form of plastic, according to the Marine Conservati­on Society, and evidence suggests they are the cause of more than nine in 10 blockages in UK sewers.

Boots is one of the biggest sellers of wet wipes in the UK, with more than 140 different lines stocked across skincare, baby, tissue and health care categories. Steve Ager, chief customer and commercial officer at Boots UK, said: “Our customers are more aware than ever before of their impact on the environmen­t, and they are actively looking to brands and retailers to help them lead more sustainabl­e lives. We removed plastics from our own brand and No7 wet wipe ranges in 2021, and now we are calling on other brands and retailers across the UK to follow suit in eliminatin­g all plastic-based wet wipes.

“We all have a responsibi­lity to protect our planet. By joining forces to inspire more positive action, we can collective­ly make a big difference.”

Environmen­t Minister Rebecca Pow said: “This is a really encouragin­g commitment from Boots to prevent the damaging plastics in wet wipes from entering our environmen­t.

“We have already conducted a call for evidence on wet wipes, including the potential for banning those containing plastic. In the meantime, our message is clear – you should bin and not flush wet wipes.”

Marine Conservati­on Society chief executive Sandy Luk said: “It’s a fantastic step in the right direction for retailers, like Boots, to remove plastic from their own brand wet wipes and ask that all brands they stock do the same.

“Our volunteers found nearly 6,000 wet wipes during the Great British Beach Clean in September 2021, which is an average of 12 and a half wet wipes for every 100 metres of beach surveyed.

“The fact we’re still finding so many wet wipes on beaches shows that we need to remove plastic from wet wipes and move toward reusable options wherever possible, and it’s great that Boots are making commitment­s to this.”

 ?? Marine Conservati­on Society ?? > A beach clean in Cornwall
Marine Conservati­on Society > A beach clean in Cornwall

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