A TAUNTON day nursery provider has phased out single-use wet wipes ahead of Government proposals to eliminate them.

Tops Day Nurseries, which has bases in Musgrove Park Hospital and Bridgwater Road, has started to make its own baby wipes as an alternative to shop-bought versions.

The family of 20 nurseries is doing its bit to protect the environment after the scourge of single-use products and the impact they have was highlighted by BBC’s Blue Planet 2.

Somerset County Gazette:

Matt Wheeldon, Wessex Water's director of assets and compliance, with a mountain of flushed wet wipes at Bristol sewage treatment works

And the move to rid the nurseries of commercially bought wet wipes comes as it has been revealed they are responsible for 93 per cent of sewer blockages in the UK.

Cheryl Hadland, managing director of Tops Day Nurseries, said: “Several senior nursery staff with babies have been using homemade baby wipes for years, we have now piloted DIY baby wipes in our nurseries and have decided to do this permanently.

“After introducing the glitter ban in 2017, stopping the use of single use plastics in the nurseries and changing from plastic to glass milk bottles, to name just a few of our sustainable efforts, we are always looking for ways to improve our practice in an environmentally friendly way.”

The Government wants to eliminate single-use wet wipes within 25 years.