A Labour MP successfully secured a second reading for a bill to ban plastic wet wipes on Tuesday.
MP for Putney, Roehampton and Southfields and Shadow Cabinet Minister Fleur Anderson, proposed the new law to the House of Commons under the Ten Minute Rule Bill.
Speaking at the debate, Anderson said: “While I welcome the government’s amendment to the Environment Bill last week to introduce additional charges on single-use plastics, this just won’t wash.
“It will only hit the pockets of families instead of making the profit-making polluters pay.”
A 2017 report by Water UK, which represents the country’s main water and sewage companies, found that wet wipes make up 93% of the material that causes sewage blockages.
The study showed that 300,000 sewage blockages occur every year, costing the UK around £100 million annually.
Anderson told SWL: “The government promised in 2018 that wet wipes would be banned as part of a 25-year environment plan from DEFRA, which pledged to eliminate all avoidable plastic waste.
“We haven’t seen this ban, and now it’s time for action rather than just words. I am determined to make sure this bill passes.”
A second reading of the Plastics (wet wipes) Bill will take place in the Commons on November 19.
