Wet wipes are a genuinely useful everyday product: for nappy changes, yes, but also for carers, people with limited mobility or disabilities, and anyone who just likes the fresh-feeling finish. What they're not is flushable. Here's why, and what to do instead.
Can you flush baby wipes?
No, baby wipes should never be flushed, even if the pack says "flushable." Unlike toilet paper, which is designed to fall apart within seconds in water, wipes are made to stay strong and intact when wet. That’s exactly what makes them bad for flushing and far too good at clogging pipes. Put them in the bin, every time.
Why aren't wet wipes flushable?
Because they don't disintegrate quickly enough, so they break down slowly in pipes and combine with fats and grease to form "fatbergs." Non-flushable wet wipes are estimated to make up around 93% of the material causing some sewer blockages, and there are roughly 300,000 sewer blockages a year in the UK, costing about £100 million.
Plastic-containing wipes also break down into microplastics that wash into rivers and seas. The Marine Conservation Society found wet wipes made up around 30% of the litter on UK beaches in 2022, and recorded 21,000+ wipes on beaches in a single year of clean-ups.
Are "flushable" or biodegradable wipes okay to flush?
Still no, and this is the biggest myth of all. Most wipes labelled "flushable" don't actually break down fast enough in the sewer to pass muster, which is precisely why Water UK discontinued its "Fine to Flush" standard in 2024 and switched to telling everyone to bin wipes instead.
"Biodegradable" doesn't mean "flushable" either. Biodegradable and plastic-free wipes are far better for landfill and the wider environment because they break down over time rather than lingering for centuries, but sewers move too fast for wipes to disintegrate safely on the way through. So a biodegradable wipe still belongs in the bin, not the toilet.
What about the UK wet wipe ban?
The UK is banning wet wipes that contain plastic, but that doesn't make the remaining wipes flushable. Under the Environmental Protection (Wet Wipes Containing Plastic) Regulations 2025, the sale of plastic-containing wipes will be banned in December 2026 in Wales, during 2026 in Scotland and Northern Ireland, and by spring 2027 in England, with baby wipes in scope.
That's great news for rivers and sewers. But it's a ban on plastic in wipes, not a green light to flush plastic-free wipes. The rule stays the same: bin the wipe.
→ Want to learn more about the ban? We've written more on what it actually changes here.
How should you dispose of wet wipes?
Bin them, never flush them. The simplest habit is to keep a small, lined bin next to wherever you use wipes (the changing station, the bathroom), so binning is as easy as flushing would have been. If you compost and your wipes are certified for it, check the pack for home-composting guidance; otherwise, general waste is the safe default. And remember the "3 Ps": if it isn't pee, poo or paper, it doesn't go down the loo.
Are Cheeky Panda baby wipes flushable?
No, and we'd never tell you they are. But they are a better wipe to be binning. Cheeky Panda's baby wipes are made from FSC® 100% bamboo fibre (so they're plastic-free and already on the right side of the incoming ban), and they're soaked in a gentle 99% water formula with skin-friendly, plant-derived ingredients, so are kind on delicate skin, whether that's a newborn's or your own. Better materials, gentler formula, no plastic - just remember to bin them, not flush them!
Explore our bamboo baby wipes and the full bamboo wipes range.
