Regular wet wipes are quickly causing an ecological disaster by causing pollution and sewer blockages worldwide, and it’s essential we swap out our baby wipes full of harmful chemicals for environmentally friendly alternatives.
Each year 11 million baby wipes are used in the UK alone; they are responsible for 93% of blockages in UK sewers and are piling up river beds and banks, even changing the shape of our rivers.
A single wipe can make a massive difference to the environment and our sewer systems, causing serious plumbing issues by being full of non-biodegradable plastic and harsh chemicals to create artificial fragrances. Each year water companies spend over £100 million recovering 300,000 wet wipes, and this money could instead be spent removing costs from bills and improving services across the country.
The vast majority of wet wipes are labelled as flushable when in reality, they aren’t biodegradable and will just sit in our sewage systems, blocking them up with every baby wipe flushed. Shockingly over 90% of baby wipes can’t be flushed yet are still labelled as flushable. Fatbergs are sewer mountains full of wet wipes and all kinds of gunk, and they have been appearing in cities across the UK. Less than 1% of waste blockages were identified as products that are actually made to be flushed.
Thousands of properties across the country have and will suffer from sewer flooding, which is entirely caused by sewer blockages. Sewer flooding costs home and business owners tons in insurance and clean-up costs, whilst this could be entirely avoided by swapping conventional baby wipes for eco-friendly baby wipes.
In 2018 the government finally reacted to the wet wipe problem; considering the wipes weren’t mentioned in the 25-year environmental plan, they stated that they aimed to eliminate all avoidable plastic waste, especially single-use products such as baby wipes. Not long after this announcement, they said that they haven’t announced any program to ban wet wipes. Their focus is to work with the companies themselves to develop a product without plastic that is actually flushable. However, there is yet to be any movement on this.
Over the last decade, there has been a 400% increase in used wet wipes found on beaches. Since the wet wipes aren’t biodegradable, they are causing plastic pollution, leaving long-term problems for sea creatures and the marine environment.
A Marine Conservation Society survey found that over the last decade, there has been an over 700% increase in wet wipe pollution. They also found that per 100m of coastline, there were 14 baby wipes found!
Mammoth wipes are designed specifically to be eco-friendly alternatives to wet wipes! These are biodegradable wipes and completely plastic-free, making them much more eco friendly than conventional wipes. Mammoth wipes are 25 times bigger than normal wipes, all made from recycled materials, allowing them to reduce waste whilst still being the best eco-friendly alternative.
Wipes have become a general use in our daily lives, meaning we want the best for our skin and the environment. Mammoth wipes are alcohol-free, suitable for all skin types (especially those with sensitive skins), and perfect for delicate skin with natural ingredients, including vitamin e and no artificial dyes. Depending on your skin type, these wipes will still benefit your skin by being gentle and moisturizing, being completely free of harmful chemicals. The lemon antibacterial liquid is perfect for delicate skin, leaving you feeling refreshed and clean.
Other brands of wet wipes claim to be gentle on sensitive skin whilst at the same time containing alcohol which causes cell death, wrinkles loss of elasticity. It’s essential to remove makeup or clean your body with a trusted brand of wet wipes that are dermatologist tested and full of plant-based materials to ensure your skin is safe and free from harmful chemicals. Most eco-friendly wipes are also hypoallergenic making them perfect for sensitive skin.
One wipe can remove all your makeup or clean dirt from your whole body on the go if you’re a sporty or adventurous person. These eco-friendly wet wipes allow you to keep maintaining personal hygiene whilst on the go!
The small packets are designed to specifically designed to be biodegradable, and as a bonus, you can carry them in your bag without any worries of free space. The packaging is entirely eco-friendly and plastic-free, making them biodegradable wipes and disposed of safely, unlike standard wipes.
With the global environmental issue that wet wipes are causing, it’s essential to start using more eco-friendly versions of standard wipes. Wipes that are labelled as flushable are possibly the worst possible wipes for the environment, and no wipes should ever be flushed.
Although eco-friendly wipes are biodegradable, they are like this because of compostable materials, meaning they will need time to break down to ensure they are safe for the environment and will benefit it. When out and about, bathrooms always supply bins, a perfect place for used wet wipes as they aren’t flushable, however conventional wet wipes will not be safely disposed of. In contrast, eco-friendly wipes that are biodegradable will be much more gentle on the environment and be disposed of in a more friendly way.
By swapping to chemical-free, biodegradable wet wipes from standard ones, you can make a massive difference to local sewers; just one household making the change to biodegradable wipes is a great and slow start towards fixing our sewer systems and preventing fat burgs. Fat burgs take around eight to nine weeks to remove, making it essential to prevent them before they build up and create serious plumbing issues that can affect our daily lives.
For those who use wipes as a makeup remover, these are perfect for your makeup bag, and the plant-based materials are excellent to wash your face with as they are alcohol-free and hypoallergenic for those with more sensitive skin who need something gentle. Eco-friendly makeup wipes are made with bamboo or organic cotton, making them feel smooth on the face whilst being chemical-free.
For those who use baby wipes, there are no worries whilst using eco-friendly baby wipes as they are perfect for sensitive skin, chlorine-free, free from alcohol, hypoallergenic, and contain vitamin E to benefit your babies; skin! Every parent wants the safest products to wash their baby with, especially those free from harmful chemicals and alcohol.
There are 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic in our oceans, making the plastic-free wipes and packaging from Mammoth wipes a key buying point. It is estimated that by 2040 there will be triple the plastic waste in the ocean than it already is, making it essential we start to reduce our plastic usage now and try to be as plastic-free as possible; baby wipes are the perfect place to start.
Using wipes with plant-derived ingredients is much more gentle on our environment and won’t do half the harm that standard flushable wet wipes will. It’s a small swap we can make to benefit our marine life and local sewers whilst still meeting our skin and body needs. It’s important to remember, no wipes are flushable, and if you substitute them for toilet paper, they still belong in the bin!
Mammoth Wipes available online @ www.mammothwipes.com