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Sewer clogs due to single-use wipes are a national problem

PROTECT LW PIPES

Single-use wet wipes have gained popularity in recent years, with sales fueled by the pandemic. Many of these products are marketed as flushable, but the majority of brands do not break down after being flushed, spurring utilities to urge customers to ignore “flushable” labels on the premoistened wipes.

Wipes can catch on tree roots and trap fats, oils and grease to become large obstructions in pipes. Further down the line, they weave together and create giant rags, called fatbergs, that get stuck in pumps, collection systems and motors, which cause backups and equipment failures.

This problem has become a national one as disposable wet wipe products become more widely available and used.

For example:

• At WSSC Water, which serves 1.8 million residents in the Maryland suburbs, workers at its largest wastewater pumping station removed about 700 tons of wipes last year, a 100-ton jump over 2019, according to a April 23 Washington Post story headlined “A nasty pandemic problem: More flushed wipes are clogging pipes, sending sewage into homes.”

• In Charleston, S.C., the water utility saw a 44 percent rise in the 2020 cost to prevent and clear wipe-related blockages. Wipe-catching screens that used to need cleaning once a week are requiring it three times a week, according to the Post story.

According to the Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry, Kimberly-Clark, maker of Cottonelle wipes, which are labeled “flushable,” was sued by the Charleston, S.C., water management system in April. The suit contended that the wipes caused costly blockages and fatbergs. The lawsuit alleged that the wipes manufacturer and others, including Procter & Gamble and retailers like Costco Wholesale, CVS Health, Walgreens and Target, sold so-called “flushable” products that failed to disintegrate like toilet paper as labeled on their product. Though not admitting any wrongdoing, Kimberly-Clark reached a proposed settlement with the Charleston water management system, which was submitted to the federal court in South Carolina, promising to undergo two years of testing, manufacturing improvements and better labeling. The company contends that its Cottonelle wipes pass “widely accepted flushability specifications” and are tested with plumbers.

• In the Detroit area, one pumping station averaged about 4,000 pounds of wipes collected weekly after the pandemic started, four times as much as before.

• In the Seattle area, workers remove wipes from pipes and pumps around the clock and are now finding used masks with increasing regularity.

On Oct. 6, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law Assembly Bill 818, making California the fourth state to require “Do Not Flush” labeling on non-flushable wipes. Similar laws have been enacted in Washington, Oregon and Illinois, with additional bills pending in Massachusetts and Minnesota.

Like the other state laws, California’s law avoids the contentious issue of setting flushability standards for wipes that are designed to be flushed, focusing instead on the important “Do Not Flush” labeling that provides consumers with a clear message that these types of wipes should not be flushed.

In addition, the federal Wastewater Infrastructure Pollution Prevention and Environmental Safety Act (WIPPES) was introduced on July 21 by Reps. Lowenthal (D-CA) and McClain (R-MI). This bill would direct the Federal Trade Commission, in consultation with U.S. EPA, to issue regulations requiring wipes manufacturers to include “Do Not Flush” labeling on non-flushable wet wipes packaging. Another federal bill setting flushability requirements for wipes labeled “flushable” is also expected to be introduced soon.

The California Association of Sanitation Agencies (CASA) and the National Stewardship Action Council worked on the wipes legislation. According to CASA, it is estimated that North American businesses and households spent about $2.5 billion on personal wipes in 2019, and that number is climbing.

The Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry has reported that sales of disinfecting and flushable wipes are up about 30 percent and expected to remain strong.

There are no reliable statistics about how many wipes are flushed down toilets across the U.S., but there are hundreds of reports each year of clogged household plumbing and costly damage to public sewer systems and treatment plants caused by wipes when they are flushed.

The safest way to keep LW’s pipes clear is to flush only toilet paper.

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