UK - Draft Legislation: The Environmental Protection (Wet Wipes Containing Plastic) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2025

​UK Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) announces the Draft legislation: The Environmental Protection (Wet Wipes Containing Plastic) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2025.

These regulations introduce a ban on the supply and sale of wet wipes containing plastic for domestic purposes subject to exceptions. 

These regulations will apply to all businesses that operate in Northern Ireland. 

A "wet wipe" means a non-woven piece of fabric which has been pre-wetted, and which is not designed or intended to be re-used.

Under these regulations "plastic" means a material consisting of polymer as defined in Article 3(5) of Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 concerning the Registration, Evaluation Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH), to which additives or other substances may have been added, and which can function as a main structural component of final products, with the exception of natural polymers that have not been chemically modified.

These restrictions will not apply to:

- The manufacture or import of wet wipes containing plastic.

- Supply and sale of wet wipes containing plastic, for the purpose of some business-to-business sales, as specified in the regulations.

- The supply and sale of wet wipes containing plastic by a retail pharmacy business, subject to exemptions.

- The supply of wet wipes containing plastic for use for medical purposes by or under the direction of a healthcare professional or by a healthcare professional for medical purposes.

These regulations will apply in Northern Ireland. The other UK nations, England, Scotland and Wales will introduce their own legislation with the same intent and scope to ban wet wipes containing plastic in each of their respective nations.

Breach of these prohibitions will be an offence under the regulations and will lead to a summary conviction of a fine. The draft legislation provides a transition period of 18 months for industry and retailers.

Proposed date of adoption: January, 2025

Proposed date of entry into force: June, 2026​