08.31.23
By Chris Reitmeyer
Director of Operations and Business Development at SGS
Consumers love the feeling of freshness and convenience wipes provide, but there is a price if users flush non-flushable wipes—blocked sewerage systems. How can the nonwoven wipe sector promote flushability and build consumer confidence?
This is a global problem, and the impacts can go beyond blockages. For example, a fatberg in Baltimore, MD, caused the release of 4.5 million liters of sewerage into the local environment. Fatbergs also take time and financial resources to remove—it is estimated a 130-ton fatberg in Whitechapel, London, took two months of continuous work to clear.
This problem has been growing over the last 10 years, but there was a significant acceleration during the Covid-19 pandemic as people actively sought to be more hygienic. If consumers are unclear about whether a wipe can or cannot be flushed, then there is an increased chance they will make a mistake.
Several initiatives exist to help industry and consumers disseminate and understand what products can be safely flushed, such as the Responsible Flushing Alliance. They recognize the issues surrounding flushability and seek to find real solutions by working in collaboration with manufacturers and the wastewater industry. Through their ‘Do Not Flush’ symbol and adherence to a code of practice for wipe labeling, they are working to bring clarity to the market.
The key to combating clogs must be greater better education for consumers about which products can be safely flushed – flushable wipes, etc.—and which cannot—cooking oil, baby wipes, etc. To assist consumers, markets also need to make it easier to identify which products can and cannot be flushed. This can only be done if the wipes are properly tested by a trusted service provider.
Around the world, other markets have adopted similar standards:
Differences include:
Director of Operations and Business Development at SGS
Consumers love the feeling of freshness and convenience wipes provide, but there is a price if users flush non-flushable wipes—blocked sewerage systems. How can the nonwoven wipe sector promote flushability and build consumer confidence?
Global Problem
The UK Consumer Council for Water estimates English and Welsh water companies deal with 300,000 blockages caused by fat congealing around non-flushable items, commonly called fatbergs, every year.This is a global problem, and the impacts can go beyond blockages. For example, a fatberg in Baltimore, MD, caused the release of 4.5 million liters of sewerage into the local environment. Fatbergs also take time and financial resources to remove—it is estimated a 130-ton fatberg in Whitechapel, London, took two months of continuous work to clear.
What is in a Fatberg?
Fatbergs are caused by the accumulation of ‘unflushable’ items, such as oil, grease, hair, sanitary products and non-flushable wet wipes. A 2016 forensic evaluation conducted at New York City’s Wards Island Wastewater Treatment Facility found the system contained:- 38% - non-flushable baby wipes
- 34% - non-flushable paper towels
- 19% - non-flushable household wipes
- 7% - non-flushable feminine hygiene products
- 2% - flushable wipes
- Toilet paper not counted
This problem has been growing over the last 10 years, but there was a significant acceleration during the Covid-19 pandemic as people actively sought to be more hygienic. If consumers are unclear about whether a wipe can or cannot be flushed, then there is an increased chance they will make a mistake.
Legal Pushback
In January 2021, the Charleston Water System, South Carolina, filed a lawsuit against multiple companies involved in the manufacture and sale of wipes. Their goal was to ensure wipes labeled ‘flushable’ were actually flushable and would ‘disperse’ in the sewerage system in a time and manner that did not cause blockages or additional maintenance problems. The lawsuit also included requirements that manufacturers provide better notice to consumers that non-flushable wipes are truly non-flushable. In April 2021, they reached a settlement with one of the defendants, which stated that wipes labeled ‘flushable’ must meet the wastewater industry’s standards by May 2022.Several initiatives exist to help industry and consumers disseminate and understand what products can be safely flushed, such as the Responsible Flushing Alliance. They recognize the issues surrounding flushability and seek to find real solutions by working in collaboration with manufacturers and the wastewater industry. Through their ‘Do Not Flush’ symbol and adherence to a code of practice for wipe labeling, they are working to bring clarity to the market.
The key to combating clogs must be greater better education for consumers about which products can be safely flushed – flushable wipes, etc.—and which cannot—cooking oil, baby wipes, etc. To assist consumers, markets also need to make it easier to identify which products can and cannot be flushed. This can only be done if the wipes are properly tested by a trusted service provider.
Testing Flushability
In June 2018, INDA, the association of the nonwoven fabrics industry, and EDANA, the European disposables and nonwovens association, published the fourth edition of their Guidelines for Assessing the Flushability of Disposable Nonwoven Products (GD4). They have also released a code of practice for labeling that states non-flushable wipes must display the ‘Do Not Flush’ symbol on packaging, and it must be clear at the point of purchase and visible every time a wipe is removed.Around the world, other markets have adopted similar standards:
- International Wastewater Services Flushability Group (IWSFG) PAS3 – June 2018 (updated 2020)
- Australia/New Zealand Standard AS/NZS 5328:2022 – May 2022
Differences include:
- Pre-conditioning step – flush in toilet and hold for 30 minutes in the drainpipe instead of rinse off lotion
- Force – four liters of water at 18 rpm instead of two liters at 26 rpm
- Time – halved to 30 minutes, with rinse time also halved to 60 seconds
- Pass criteria – 80% must pass through a 25 mm sieve instead of 60% passing through a 12.5 mm sieve