John has given his support to the MP for Putney, (Fleur Anderson), in introducing her Bill on plastic free wet wipes. It was a 10 minute rule Bill so there was no opportunity for anyone to speaker on the issue other than the primary mover of the Bill. These 10 munute rule Bills are Private Members Bills brought forward to drawn attention to specific issues. MPs show their suport by attending the Chamber. 

Analysis has revealed that in this constituency we had the 50th highest number of sewer blockages caused by plastics and cooking fats in the Thames Water region over the past 12 month. This meant a total of 549 blockages. The inappropriate flushing of wet wipes increases river pollution and the risk of properties flooding, as well as being a primary cause of blockages in sewer systems. Thames Water advises that customers only flush the ‘three Ps’ – pee, poo and paper - and the proper disposal of wet wipes would make a very significant difference to the risk of blockages that can harm the environment and flood constituents’ homes. 

John said "I spoke with Fleur Anderson afterwards to comment on the Bill and to see where next we go with this piece of legislation. We agreed that the support of the Government would be crucial and await the second reading on 19th November." 

This Bill would ban the manufacture and sale of wet wipes containing plastic. It would also create an Extended Producer Responsibility scheme for all wet wipes. This would ensure that manufacturers clearly and accurately label their products to show that they are either unflushable (or that they meet the industry's ‘Fine to Flush’ standard) and that they pay the costs of raising awareness of this issue and clearing blockages.