Kimberly-Clark (K-C) is consulting on the proposed closure of its manufacturing site in Flint, north Wales, after the UK government announced it will ban the sale of wet wipes containing plastic.
The facility manufactures K-C Professional bath tissue (toilet paper), facial tissue, wipers and handtowels, as well as baby wipes.
It is now expected to close in 2025, putting the jobs of more than 200 people at risk.
A spokesperson for K-C said: “Phasing out plastics from our baby wipes has long been part of K-C’s sustainability plans and we have already removed a significant amount of plastic from them.
“However, we’re unable to meet the UK Government’s deadline of mid-2026 as it significantly limits our ability to adapt our consumer manufacturing processes in Flint in time, which means it may no longer be viable to keep our consumer and B2B sites operational.
“Should the site closure proposal go ahead, we will keep the Flint site operational into 2025 and will continue to work closely with our customers and retailers on transition plans for affected products.”
Announced on 22 April 2024, the UK Government has said it will introduce legislation to ban wet wipes containing plastic.
It said: “Defra intends to bring forward the legislation for England ahead of summer recess, with Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales following by the autumn as part of an aligned approach to bring the ban into force.
“Wet wipes containing plastic break down into microplastics over time, which research shows can be harmful to human health and disrupt our ecosystems – with a recent survey showing an average of 20 wet wipes were found per 100 metres of beach surveyed across the UK*.”
*For the period 2015 to 2020, an average of 20 wet wipes were found per 100m of beach surveyed across the UK according to Defra Beach Litter Monitoring Data.
