Kimberly-Clark announces proposals to close Flint plant

Kimberly-Clark has said it is consulting on plans to close its site at Aber Road in Flint.

The reason for the proposed closure of the site, which employs 220 people, is due to the UK Government's announcement on the banning of the sale of wet wipes which contain plastics.

A Kimberly-Clark (K-C) spokesperson said: “Following the official announcement by the UK government to ban the sale of wet wipes containing plastic, we are consulting on the proposed closure of our manufacturing operations at Flint in 2025.

Kimberly-Clark, Flint (Image: Google)

“Phasing out plastics from our baby wipes has long been part of K-C’s sustainability plans and we have already removed a significant amount of plastic from them. Most of our baby wipes use a proprietary technology with 70 per cent natural fibres and 30 per cent plastic added to provide the necessary strength to clean and care for babies' skin properly.

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“However, we’re unable to meet the UK Government’s deadline of mid-2026 as it significantly limits our ability to adapt our consumer manufacturing processes in Flint in time, which means it may no longer be viable to keep our consumer and B2B sites operational."

They added: “Decisions that involve our employees are the hardest to make and we know it is a challenging period for our team. Supporting them through this complex situation is our top priority.

“Should the site closure proposal go ahead, we will keep the Flint site operational into 2025,  and will continue to work closely with our customers and retailers on transition plans for affected products.”