'Our city alone spends $100K a year cleaning up this mess' - Should wet wipes be banned in NZ for the environment's sake?

May 10, 2018

The handy cleaning product contains non-biodegradable plastic and the UK is considering a ban.

Wet wipes have long been the salvation of Kiwi parents with young children prone to get themselves into some sticky situations, but with the UK looking at banning them for environmental reasons are they soon to suffer the same fate here?

They are in the firing line in the UK due to containing non-biodegradable plastic that clog up the sewer systems, but teachers and parents here are big fans of them.

"We use them for nappy changes, sticky fingers, hands, faces are quite good because they're soft and sometimes for spot cleaning because they are usually quite good," early childhood teacher Stacey Clyde told TVNZ1's Seven Sharp.

Ms Clyde says she uses them because of the convenience.

"I think it's convenient because they come in packs that you can shove in the car, they're easy to keep clean and wet, so I do think that they are convenient in that aspect,"

However, for local councils the wet wipes can create a big environmental headache.

"Just our city alone spends $100,000 a year cleaning up this mess so it's really difficult and of course if you don't flush - which you definitely shouldn't they're bad news - they go to landfill and fill up our tips," Wellington City Councillor Iona Pannett said.

But if we lose the handy wet wipe what then?

"I'm afraid we're going to have to go back to the past and warm water and a flannel is really the best answer," Ms Pannett said.

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