17 hours agoShareSaveJonah Fisher/BBCUntil March 2024 the water companies ran a certification scheme which gave the green light for some wipes to be put in the toilet, called “Fine to Flush”. But that was discontinued because of fears it was causing confusion among consumers and replaced with a new slogan “Bin the Wipe”.Now the advice from the government and the water companies is very clear. Only the three P’s – pee, paper and poo should be put down the toilet. “Restricting the sale of wet wipes containing plastic is a step in the right direction,” said a spokesperson for Water UK, the industry’s trade body. “But we really need a ban on their manufacture and mandatory ‘do not flush’ labelling on all wet wipes.”Some of the manufacturers who market “flushable” wipes told the BBC that they were in fact moist toilet tissues, but Water UK said it still viewed them as wet wipes so they shouldn’t be flushed. “I would encourage them [the wet wipe manufacturers] to show leadership on this right now,” says Minister Hardy. “Instead of marketing them as being flushable, provide labelling to inform the public that they need to bin them and not flush them down the toilets.”Additional reporting by Gwyndaf Hughes …
