AIBU to start a campaign to ban wipes?

[annandale]

Wipes are an environmental disaster, a key component of fatbergs and sold as a flushable essential when they should be treated like morphine - controlled except for specific medical needs. Anyone with me?

Hopefully with that kind of pressure we'll soon see biodegradable ones

@FASH84 , it's an old thread revived!

🙈🙈

I've posted on this thread before and now understand that what appeared to be biodegradable wipes I was using aren't really broken down so I am now using a damp cloth in a zip lock bag when we're out. Normal cheeky wipes at home.

Really pleased to hear this news and hope it happens sooner rather than later. With that and the t bags, it's got to make a difference!

I've not heard about the t bag issue.

Not having wet wipes would make my life more difficult as I have an incontinent teenager and messing about with cotton wool etc is impractical. It's not like having to clean up a baby.
Other wipes I'm not fussed about.

I would anticipate there would be a medical exclusion, sockwomble.

Vitalogy, tea bags are made with a small amount of plastic too, so they don't biodegrade either! Or at least, they shed plastic as they do.

A campaign to raise awareness that you shouldn't flush them would be a good idea. I think a lot of people don't realise you shouldn't flush them.

Agree op. Wipes should be binned not flushed, and non-degradeable wipes banned.
Unless we want our children to live in a very different, horribly polluted world with the sea destroyed and our drinking water full of micro plastics that our kidneys can’t cope with, then we have to dramatically cut down on the plastic we use. I have switched to loose tea, I’m trying to make small changes with the things I buy. It is difficult but there is no option but change. We throw things away...there is no “away”, there is just this world, filling up with our rubbish, day by day.

"I would anticipate there would be a medical exclusion, sockwomble."

That would be sensible although I am not sure how it would work in practice.

Oh right, thanks picklemepopcorn

I have a 12 year old still in nappies doing adult sized poops which are often loose due to his many health conditions, please tell me what I would use to clean him up if wipes were banned?
Always bin in nappy bags, never flush.

I too am not sure how medical exemption would work...wipes on prescription?

Wipes and sanpro should have huge don't flush notices and pictures of polluted beaches in the manner of cigarette packaging.

Nobody is targeting people with IBS/incontinence etc. It's the other 99%.

Its ironic that our obsession with hygiene /convenience causes so much pollution and expense "downstream" as it were. Just because it goes out of sight down the u-bend does not mean its successfully flushed.

It is the fact that they contain non biodegradable plastic that is the issue, not whether they are flushed or not.

I think the hope is that manufacturers will develop truly biodegradable, plastic free products, as even throwing them in the bin, contributes to the vast amount of plastic left littering the environment.

Why is no-one targetting the restaurants that are pouring vast amounts of fat down the drain?

This is why everyone should have a bidet.

Huffin- no good for people who can't use one though. As a carer I bag and bin all wipes but we can't do without them, they're used for some people at maybe a packet a day

Hopefully with that kind of pressure we'll soon see biodegradable ones

There already are. They are called Naty biodegradable wet wipes. I have been using them since 2015. They also do biodegradable nappy bags and nappies/pull ups. (They also do biodegradable sanitary towels)

Yes 100% . I hate wet wipes . They make my baby’s skin sore . I’ve used warm water and either cotton wool or a flannel to wash her and she’s almost never been sore . The couple of times she has been sore I’ve washed as usual with water and applied aloe Vera gel straight from the plant . Clear within a day. Thrown away any creams I was given as I believe they break the skin down more . Stay natural I say, I can’t stand putting lots of chemicals on the skin , especially baby skin! And yes back to the point , sorry , wipes are an environmental disaster and should be banned like many things made today. When are the people of this world going to come to their senses?
Unnecessary , more expensive and they do more harm than good to skin and the environment.

Warm water and cotton wool .
Less chemicals on the skin and warm water must feel better than a cold wet wipe

That may work for babies but isn't practical for carers unless you are trying to make their job/life even more difficult.

yes I can appreciate it’s more difficult than getting a pack of wipes from the drawer but I feel there are more benefits when using water and I find preparing before hand ready for the next change helps .
I was a carer for over ten years and I always used warm water. I only used wipes when on a day out and if I had to .