Bad for the environment, bad for marine life, bad for the sewerage system, and bad for the planet. So bad they’re going to be banned.

The Secretary of State for the Environment has announced that wet-wipes will be banned.

Mr Gove, then Secretary of State for the Environment has announced that the government will clamp down following the charity Thames21 finding more than 5,000 used wipes in an area the size of a badminton court. Up by more than a thousand since last year.

This small area analysis was done to provide a snap shot of how the Thames, and other UK rivers, have been affected. Replicated across the entire Thames area shows how huge and significant the problem is.

Wet wipes are usually majority plastic. They break down slowly into microplastics that are then eaten by marine life, often with deadly consequences.

The UK’s water and sewerage companies have been reporting this issue to the agency and detail that sewer blockages, in which wet wipes play a big part, add £100m to water bills each year. Wet wipes contribute to the huge“fatbergs”, consolidated fat and rubbish in sewer systems, which are a growing problem around the UK.