Sydney Water has received international recognition by being awarded the Corporate Social Responsibility PR Campaign of the Year at the Asia-Pacific Communications Summit in Singapore.

The award is for Sydney Water’s successful ‘keep wipes out of the pipes’ education program.

Senior Media and PR Advisor at Sydney Water, Peter Hadfield said “our keep wipes out of pipes education program has created significant awareness of the problems caused to our wastewater network by flushing wet wipes. More importantly our customers, who are often hit with expensive plumbing bills to have wipes removed from the sewer pipes in their homes, are now aware of the problems of flushing wipes.

“I thank Plumbing Connections for their significant contribution in getting the message out to their many readers.

“Since we started the program, our customer sentiment surveys have shown a 50% reduction in people who think it’s Ok to flush wipes.

“The campaign has also taken off internationally, with 204 wastewater utilities and 41 Non-Government Organisations from 17 countries supporting the movement to keep these products out of pipes”, said Mr Hadfield

Manager Media and External Communications at Sydney Water Keiran Smith said “we have been consistent with our message to the public about putting wipes in the bin and not flushing them and it’s great to see that Sydney Water’s customers and the customers of utilities right around Australia and around the world are taking notice.

“There has been consumer confusion in that many wet wipes are branded ‘flushable’, but our tests and independent tests undertaken by CHOICE and an accredited lab have demonstrated that even flushable branded wipes are not flushable at all.

“The award is a wonderful recognition of the hard work done by Sydney Water staff to bring what was a little-known issue to wide public attention and advocate for change in the packaging claims about these products.

“Remember that the only things that should ever be flushed are the 3 P’s – Pee, Poo and (toilet) Paper”, said Mr Smith.

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