It has been confirmed that, regarding National Assembly legislation seeking to regulate wet wipes, a major cause of sewer blockages and microplastics, the government has put on the brakes, saying a cautious approach is needed. While acknowledging the harmfulness of wet wipes, it drew a line at regulation, drawing criticism that this runs counter to the ‘de-plastic’ policy line pursued by the Lee Jae Myung administration.

According to the National Assembly Bill Information System on the 6th, two amendments to the ‘Act on the Promotion of Saving and Recycling of Resources’ (Resources Recycling Act) that would include wet wipes in the environmental regulatory framework were introduced in January.

The amendment to the Resources Recycling Act proposed by Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Jeong-ho would designate single-use synthetic resin and fiber products, including wet wipes, as ‘products of environmental concern’ for management, and impose a waste charge on manufacturers and others.

A waste charge is a system that requires manufacturers and importers of products that contain hazardous substances or are difficult to recycle to bear the costs of waste treatment. The legislative intent of the amendment is to place on producers the cost responsibility arising from non-dissolving wet wipes, such as sewer blockages.

A bill by People Power Party lawmaker Kim Ki-woong likewise seeks to bring wet wipes, which have fallen into a management blind spot, into the regulatory framework. It would designate plastic products made of synthetic resins, like wet wipes, as ‘single-use items’ and apply the waste charge system.

Under the domestic Cosmetics Act, wet wipes are classified as ‘cosmetics’ and are excluded from single-use item management. Although the main material of wet wipes is plastic synthetic fiber, there is no legal basis to manage them as plastic waste.

Environmental damage caused by wet wipes is growing. According to a report published in January by the National Assembly Research Service titled ‘Legislative Review for Resolving the Environmental Issues of Wet Wipes’, wet wipes flushed down toilets do not break down and combine with grease in sewer pipes to form ‘fatbergs’, massive lumps of filth. Wet wipe fatbergs account for about 80~90% of all debris filtered out at wastewater treatment plants. Of the roughly 250 billion KRW spent annually on maintenance and management of sewer networks nationwide, more than 100 billion KRW is estimated to be spent solely on emergency dredging and pump repairs due to illegal disposal of wet wipes.

The cost of restoring sewer pipes is shifted to local government budgets, which can push up sewage fees. Producers, by contrast, are not subject to separate regulation and bear no responsibility for the costs. It is a structure in which consumers shoulder the environmental damage costs caused by wet wipes.

For this reason, major countries such as the United Kingdom regard wet wipes as a factor that threatens sewer infrastructure and the marine environment, and are moving ahead with strong regulations such as banning the sale of plastic-containing wet wipes.

The government, by contrast, is taking a passive stance toward regulating wet wipes.

According to the ‘Review Report on the Amendments to the Resources Recycling Act’ by the National Assembly Committee on Climate, Energy, Environment and Labor, the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment expressed the view that “careful review is necessary” regarding the two amendments that would incorporate wet wipes into the environmental regulatory framework. It stated that the criteria proposed in the amendments for determining products of environmental concern are ambiguous and could be arbitrarily overinterpreted, and that even under current regulations, products made of synthetic resins can be included and managed as single-use items. Above all, it emphasized concern that if wet wipes are designated as products of environmental concern, the brand images of the manufacturers would decline, dealing a blow to the industry.

A staffer in the office of the lawmaker who introduced the bill said, “We did not expect the government to issue a negative opinion, as it is a bill in line with the government de-plastic policy direction and global regulatory trends,” adding, “It appears the opinion reflected the views of the wet wipe manufacturing industry without separate discussion or consultation.”