'New cotton bud'. Plastic hygiene product should be banned

The Herald Scotland

3 days ago

A group of 20 organisations, including campaigns, charities and businesses, has issued the letter urging the Scottish Government to ban them.
Flossers join a long list of personal hygiene and other products that have littered Scotland's coastlines, including not only cotton buds, but wipes, plastic cutlery, sanitary towels, pharmaceutical blister packs, Covid masks, interdental brushes and straws.
Some, like cotton buds and straws, have been banned. But others continue to make their way into waterways, landfill and sewage systems, contributing to the rising deluge of global plastic pollution that is showing no signs of slowing.
The call comes in the run up to the final round of talks for the UN global plastics treaty, which is looking at how to tackle both plastic waste and plastic at source. This new form of waste is just one element in the rising tide of pollution driven by production levels are set to triple by 2060.
'The dental flosser may be a small, innocuous-looking item,' the letter observes, 'but single use dental flossers are being sold in multi-packs by most supermarkets and pharmacies, and they are littering our streets, parks and beaches. We have collated photo evidence of these items across Scotland, from the pristine beach of the island of Colonsay, to the city streets of Edinburgh and Glasgow, to the east coast by St Abbs."
A move like this, the authors point out, would align with the [[Scottish Government]]'s forthcoming Circular Economy Strategy, which has targets to reduce plastic production and waste, as well as the New Plastics [[Economy]] Global Commitment, which the [[Scottish Government]] signed in 2018.
A dental flosser found on the Isle of Colonsay (Image: Rachael Revesz) Concerned signatories include campaigner and social media influencer Laura Young, also known as 'Less Waste Laura', who led the campaign against disposable electric vapes and Don MacNeish, a founder of the Community of Arran Seabed Trust (COAST), one of the voices in David Attenborough's recent Ocean documentary.
Some of the signatories are clean up groups who have noticed the rise in dental flossers in litter picks. Marion Montgomery of Paws on Plastic said: 'They are something that our members find regularly on walks, in parks, on streets. Not only are they an example of unnecessary single use plastic but they also pose a potential risk to animals and an environmental hazard for generations.'
Waste from Arrochar litter sink (Image: The GRAB Trust) Beach cleaners from Scottish Coastal Clean Up observed that the flossers tended to be found "wherever we find wipes".
The letter points out that while dental flossers, also called, 'dental harps', 'may be more accessible for some people to maintain dental hygiene', there are alternative products. Even so-called 'eco flossers', it notes, are problematic since they are made from 'equally harmful bioplastics'.
'We urge policy makers to turn the tide against our throw-away culture by banning the sale of an item that is barely used for a few seconds before it spends decades, if not centuries, in landfill," the letter said.
In recent years Scotland has banned plastic straws, drink stirrers and polystyrene food containers. "We've charged a fee on plastic bags," says the letter, "and we've banned single use vapes. These have been bold moves, and they've had a remarkable impact.
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The problem, Ms Young pointed out, is that the flosser is just one of many single-use items contributing to wider plastic pollution, with ever more new items entering the market.
'Plastic dental flossers are yet another example of unnecessary single-use waste polluting our environment. I've seen them in towns and cities, littering streets and clogging gutters, and on our beaches, alongside other toiletry-related waste like plastic cotton buds, tampon applicators, and wet wipes.'
Progress, she noted, has already been made on some items, with bans like plastic cotton buds and straws. 'But the rest? Still polluting our environment and wasting resources.'
"It's frustrating that we continue to act only after these plastics become a visible problem. We need upstream solutions, not piecemeal bans. The United Nations Global Plastics Treaty meeting this month is a chance for us collectively to go beyond voluntary pledges and weak commitments. We need binding global action that holds corporations accountable, enforces plastic reduction targets, and redesigns the systems driving overconsumption.
"Individuals can choose better, businesses must do better, and governments must act faster and smarter. The planet can't wait."
Kat Jones, director of Action to Protect Rural Scotland, said that the ban would be a "start" but that laws are needed "to encourage and incentivise producers make responsible products."
"Producers are constantly inventing new types of throw-away item while persuading us that we can't live without them. The one-use flosser is an absolute prime example.
"Until producers can turn their skills in innovation and technical knowhow to the service of sustainability, rather than thinking of the next throw-away gimmick, we are always going to be battling waste, litter and the pollution of our seas item by item."
Personal hygiene litter collected by beach clean artist Lil Vischer (Image: Vicky Allan) The letter is also not the only one to be issued as the UN Global Plastic Treaty talks begin in Geneva, calling for action and commitment from the Scottish Government.
Another open letter to the first minister, from 18 groups including Friends of the Earth Scotland and Stop Climate Chaos Scotland, has outline the damage created by plastic, and called for the Scottish Government to act now to prevent further harm.
Kim Pratt, circular economy campaigner for Friends of the Earth Scotland said: 'We all want a future free from plastic pollution, but the Scottish Government is failing to take the actions needed to protect people and nature from the growing harms of the plastics crisis.
"Promises at an international level will only be meaningful if they are backed up with action at a local level. Industry-backed solutions, such as recycling, do not address the underlying cause of the plastics crisis – that there is too much plastic to begin with and more is being made every day.
'It doesn't have to be this way. The Global Plastics Treaty is an incredible opportunity internationally, and a chance for the Scottish Government to reset the way plastics are used in Scotland too.
'There are practical steps the Scottish Government should be taking today to halt the plastics crisis. These include immediately banning the burning of plastic waste, forcing companies to be responsible for cleaning the products they sell, and investing in reuse services.'
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: 'Scotland was the first part of the UK to implement a ban on some of the most problematic single-use plastic products and we continue to work with our partners to reduce many sources of plastic pollution as possible and also to support the removal of rubbish from our seas and coastline.
'In addition, the Circular Economy (Scotland) Act 2024 increases the powers available to the Government to take action on waste in Scotland, and we are also progressing with international efforts to address major pollution sources such as plastic pellets, as well as supporting the removal of rubbish from our seas and beaches.'