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PLUMBING CONNECTION
SUMMER 2015
THE WET WIPE FIGHT CONTINUES
W
hile manufacturers maintain
their claims about wipes
being safe to flush, plumbers,
contractors and councils beg to
differ. Unfortunately though, the fight
against ‘flushable’ wipes and their
manufacturers is falling on deaf ears
as stories of blockages continue to
run rife around the globe and more
recently, in our own backyard.
Sydney Water has a major problem
with wet wipes in wastewater pipes
and its research has shown that one in
four of the 4.6 million Sydneysiders are
currently contributing to the problem
by flushing wet wipes down their toilet.
Tests undertaken by Sydney Water
and Choice have confirmed wet wipes,
whether branded ‘flushable’ or not, do
not break down as claimed and should
never be flushed down the toilet.
Sydney Water’s General Manager
of Services Delivery, Eric de Rooy
said, “We want to stop the impact
blocked drains and sewers have on our
customers and our ‘Keep Wipes Out
of the Pipes’ campaign, in association
with Choice’s ‘Flushbusters’, will better
educate our customers of the risks of
flushing anything but toilet paper and
human waste.”
Choice recently awarded a leading
brand name wipes manufacturer a
Shonky Award for its deceptive claim
that its ‘flushable’ wipes disintegrate
like toilet paper. Choice has also
referred wet wipes manufacturers
to the Australian Competition
and Consumer Commission
(ACCC) regarding the misleading
representation that wet wipes are
flushable.
More than 500 tonnes of wet wipes
are removed from Sydney Water’s
sewers each year – the equivalent
weight of four blue whales . Over the
past two years Sydney Water has
removed enough wet wipes that, when
laid end to end, they would reach
from Sydney to LA and back, and the
problem is increasing!
Wet wipes may flush and clear your
toilet bowl, however they can combine
with fats, oils and other things
PLUMBING CONNECTION HAS PUBLISHED STORIES FROM FAR AND WIDE IN RELATION TO WET WIPES POSING A
MAJOR THREAT TO SEWERAGE SYSTEMS... BUT NOW THE PROBLEM HAS MADE ITSELF KNOWN ON HOME SOIL.
WHEN WILL SOMETHING BE DONE?
An example of the destructive nature
of wipes in our pipes.
WET WIPES