THE nurseries that banned glitter have now scrapped commercial baby wipes in favour of making their own.

Tops Day Nurseries says all the plastic wipes on the market contain single-use plastic, which is bad for the environment.

The Bournemouth-based chain of 20 childcare sites have instead started making their own wipes for faces and hands.

Cheryl Hadland, founder and 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,” she added.

Tops Day Nurseries says it has also found a number of irritants and chemicals in commercially-bought wipes which can affect delicate skin.

It says more natural, organic products are also cheaper.

Baby wipes cause 93 per cent of sewer pipe blockages, the company says.

Overflows of sewage into rivers during floods cause piles of wipes to build in rivers – and they can then drift into the sea.

Tops says it has stopped buying wipes until manufacturers make them without plastic.

Ms Hadland, who teaches scuba diving and founded the environmental charity GECCO, revealed last November that her nurseries were banning glitter because of its environmental impact. The move earned praise from the Marine Conservation Society.

The nurseries later ran a competition to find sustainable ways of getting rid of its stocks.

Earlier this year, Tops revealed it was bringing back glass bottles in place of the 250,000 plastic milk bottles it uses a year.

Ms Hadland added: “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.”