Wet wipes containing plastic - proposed ban: strategic environmental assessment
Consultation on strategic environmental assessment (SEA) for the proposed ban on the manufacture, supply and sale of wet wipes containing plastic.
5 Results of the SEA
5.1 Overview
5.1.1 The purpose of this section is to report the results of the SEA.
5.1.2 It is considered that a ban on the manufacture, supply and sale of wet wipes containing plastic has the potential to lead to significant beneficial environmental effects across all of the topics that were scoped in to this SEA.
5.1.3 An overview of the implications of the proposed ban on the marine environment is provided in this section. This will be presented through the biodiversity, flora and fauna topic, the water quality, resources and ecological status topic, and the material assets topic (see Section 3.3) and associated SEA objectives and questions.
5.2 Environmental assessment
| SEA Topic | SEA Objective | SEA Questions | Score | Commentary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Biodiversity, flora, and fauna | To work towards achieving ‘Good Environmental Status’ (GES) for marine litter. | To what extent will the proposed ban of wet wipes containing plastic affect the attainment of GES for marine litter? | + | The reduction in the presence of wet wipes containing plastic in the marine environment may contribute toward achieving GES. Wet wipes containing plastic are only one type of marine litter, and as such a ban on these alone would not achieve GES. In the long term, as part of a suite of current and possible future measures banning a variety of single-use plastic items, this proposal may result in positive impacts to the environmental baseline. |
| To safeguard and enhance marine and coastal ecosystems, including species, habitats and their interactions. | To what extent will the proposed ban of wet wipes containing plastic enhance marine ecosystems, and the species and habitats contained therein. | + | The reduction in the presence of wet wipes containing plastic in the marine environment will reduce the pressure of plastic litter on ecosystems, as well as on the species and habitats within them. A reduction in risk of harm posed to these ecosystems will contribute toward their safeguarding and enhancement, through a reduction in negative pressures and increased resilience. | |
| To protect and conserve the ecosystems and the biological diversity of UK territorial seas. | To what extent will the proposed ban of wet wipes containing plastic affect the biological diversity of UK territorial seas as a whole? | + | The reduction in the presence of wet wipes containing plastic in the marine environment will reduce the pressure of plastic litter on ecosystems. A reduction in pressure on biological diversity at the Scottish scale will contribute to overall protection of biological diversity within UK territorial seas. | |
| Water quality, resources, and ecological status | To work towards achieving ‘Good Environmental Status’ for marine litter. | To what extent will the proposed ban of wet wipes containing plastic affect the attainment of GES for marine litter? | + | The reduction in the presence of wet wipes containing plastic in the marine environment may contribute toward achieving GES. Wet wipes containing plastic are only one type of marine litter that results in micro and nano plastic pollution, and as such a ban on these alone would not achieve GES. In the long term, as part of a suite of current and possible future measures banning a variety of single-use plastic items, this proposal may result in positive impacts to the environmental baseline. |
| To safeguard and enhance marine and coastal ecosystems, including species, habitats and their interactions. | To what extent will the proposed ban of wet wipes containing plastic affect the water quality and ecological status of marine ecosystems? | + | The reduction in the presence of wet wipes containing plastic in the marine environment will reduce the pressure of micro and nano plastic litter on ecosystems, as well as on the species and habitats within them. A reduction in risk of harm posed to these ecosystems will contribute toward their safeguarding and enhancement, through a reduction in negative pressures and increased resilience. | |
| To protect and conserve the ecosystems and the biological diversity of UK territorial seas. | To what extent will the proposed ban of wet wipes containing plastic affect the water quality and ecological status of UK territorial seas as a whole? | + | The reduction in the presence of wet wipes containing plastic in the marine environment will reduce the pressure of micro and nano plastic litter on ecosystems. A reduction in pressure on biological diversity at the Scottish scale will contribute to overall protection of biological diversity within UK territorial seas. | |
| Material assets | To work towards achieving ‘Good Environmental Status’ for marine litter. | To what extent will the proposed ban of wet wipes containing plastic affect the attainment of GES for marine litter? | + | The reduction in the presence of wet wipes containing plastic in the marine environment may contribute toward achieving GES. Wet wipes containing plastic are only one type of marine litter, and as such a ban on these alone would not achieve GES. In the long term, as part of a suite of current and possible future measures banning a variety of single-use plastic items, this proposal may result in positive impacts to the environmental baseline. |
| To work towards reducing sewer blockages and damage to infrastructure. | To what extent will the proposed ban of wet wipes containing plastic affect the status and efficient working of sewer infrastructure? | + | A reduction in the presence of wet wipes containing plastic entering the sewer system may reduce the risk of damage to sewer infrastructure and may reduce the number of spills of sewage and sewage-related debris into the marine environment. Wet wipes not containing plastic may still enter the sewer system, however these may be less rigid and could tear more easily meaning they would be less likely to accumulate in the sewer infrastructure and less likely to cause obstructions. |
5.3 Proposals for monitoring
5.3.1 In order to ensure the intended benefits of a ban are being realised, the following monitoring is proposed:
- Beach litter monitoring – beach survey data from organisations such as the Marine Conservation Society can be used to monitor changes in numbers of wet wipes found on Scottish beaches following the implementation of a ban.
- Regional trends – data analyses by Marine Directorate can be used to demonstrate changes of numbers of wet wipes found on Scottish beaches over time.
- Sewer infrastructure monitoring – increased capability of monitoring of sewer outputs and improved and increased screening of sewer outfalls by Scottish Water can be used to monitor the number of blockages in the infrastructure and the types of debris being caught and removed.
5.4 Conclusion
5.4.1 Overall, this assessment considers that the reduced risk of harm that would result from a ban on the manufacture, supply and sale of wet wipes containing plastic will potentially provide environmental benefits for the topics of biodiversity, flora and fauna, water quality, resources and ecological status, and material assets, and could help contribute to the achievement of the SEA objectives. This is because the proposed ban has the potential to result in reduced risk of harm to a range of marine species and habitats, and to the built sewer infrastructure.
5.4.2 Reasonable alternatives have previously been tried and have not made a discernible impact, therefore the proposed ban is the only route that has the potential to lead to significant beneficial environmental effects being realised.
Contact
Email: WWSEAandBRIA@gov.scot
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