Wastewater operators in Europe and North America are facing an increased amount of solid waste being inappropriately flushed down toilets causing pipe and pump clogs in wastewater systems, including recently at the treatment plant in Stonington. In concert, they have provided talking points to local media everywhere that the major culprit is the toileting wipe marketed as a “flushable wipe.” I’d like to correct the record and help the communities understand the real causes of wastewater system clogs.

There are many kinds of wipes sold, but only a few (seven percent in North America; less in Europe) are toileting wipes marketed as “flushable wipes.” The larger volume wipes, such as baby wipes, disinfecting wipes, anti-bacterial wipes, hard surface cleaning wipes, make-up removal wipes, and a cast of others, none of which are marketed as being “flushable,” are the real contributors to wastewater system clogs (along with paper towels, femcare items and others). But only flushable wipes are being charged with causing clogs in pumps and pipes.

Flushable wipes are actually the solution to the aforementioned clogs, not the cause; it is actually these “other” wipes, led by the soft but oh-so-strong baby wipe, that are the real cause of unwanted accumulations in wastewater systems.

How is it that flushable wipes appear so infrequently in such studies but appear so frequently in news stories about sewer system overflows or pump clogs? Could it be that wastewater operators see the “flushable” feature marketed on flushable-wipe packages in stores, see unidentifiable wipes being flushed causing problems in their system, so conveniently attribute the causation of their problems to the flushable wipes?

This attribution could not be more wrong. Flushable wipes are made from cellulosic materials, not the thermoplastics used in baby wipes and other cleaning wipes. Cellulose fibers sink, not float, so they reach the bottom of septic tanks and they stay at the bottom of aeration tanks, not rising and clogging the aerators.

Flushable wipes are also engineered to do something cheaper baby wipes cannot do. That is, they travel wet in their container, yet have the strength to hold together during their intended function (but a low level of strength; even a toddler could rip them), then start to lose that strength immediately upon flushing, usually breaking into pieces during the transit in the conveyance piping, and completely disintegrating upon moving through the wastewater treatment biological processes. Other wipes, when inappropriately flushed, stay intact, float, and stretch into “ropes” that can impair pumps. Those are the culprits.

Flushable wipes are actually the solution to wastewater operator concerns, not the cause. If all wipes flushed were flushable wipes, not baby wipes, then clogs on screens and in pumps would not occur (from wipes, at least). No flushable wipe has ever been established to be the causal factor for any problem in any wastewater system. Wastewater operators in the city of Perry, Iowa learned this the hard way after hiring an attorney to sue the makers of flushable wipes, only to find that they could not establish any connection between their operating issues and the presence of flushable wipes. They quickly settled and withdrew the case.

Furthermore, if consumer access to flushable wipes were to be compromised, they would use and flush more baby wipes, as their need for the cleanliness they seek cannot be legislated away

How do we assure the flushable wipes behave the way I have described? Through science, facts and statistical analysis, our industry has developed a stringent “Flushability Assessment Process” consisting of seven must-pass tests to validate that every Flushable Wipe contains the material property characteristics and composition to pass through toilets and drain lines, sink not float, lose strength so as not to harm pumps, and ultimately biodegrade and disintegrate. All wipes marketed as Flushable wipes pass these tests and therefore are incapable of causing the harm for which they are so often, and erroneously, accused.

The key to resolving the problem is to correctly define it in the first place, then educate consumers to follow proper disposal instructions. The wipes industry now has a Code of Practice for labeling wipes that requires a prominent “Do Not Flush” symbol on the packages and containers of non-flushable wipes. This symbol, easily recognized and requiring no reading, and no reading of English, is a visual reminder to NOT flush wipes not designed to be flushed.

Let’s give consumers the right information. Flushable wipes are the solution, not the problem.

Dave Rousse is president of INDA, the Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry.