What price wet wipes?

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When we recently visited Fitzgerald National Park near Hopetoun, Western Australia, we stopped at the entrance to pay our fees. In my usual fashion I read all the bits and pieces on the notice boards and was surprised to read quite a lengthy piece about how bad wet wipes are for the environment. I’ve never been one for using wet wipes although I have taken them on picnics. On googling the subject, it seems wet wipes have been labelled by The Guardian (and others) as the ‘biggest villain of 2015’. Although very convenient for all number of tasks, from cleaning babies’ bottoms, wiping down surfaces, even as super-efficient toilet paper, it seems even the flushable ones are designed to be non-biodegradable. Most contain plastic fibres, preservatives, toxic chemicals and fragrances which aren’t all recommended to come in contact with skin, especially sensitive ones. More and more problems are being caused by the accumulation of wet wipes in household and civic plumbing as they are designed to keep their structure and do not break down. This leads to clogging and overflowing of sewers and drains. As for cleaning surfaces, research seems to suggest they are more suited to spreading bacteria than to killing it. Do you know all this? I certainly didn’t. And do you use wet wipes? Sometimes you really do pay for convenience – but is the price worth the result? Photo is from the National Park.