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Keep the Wipes Out
Disposable wipes are convenient and save time, until they cause inconvenient and costly plumbing issues in your home and our sanitary sewer system due to clogged pipes and sewage backups. When deciding what to flush down the toilet, it’s safest to stick to the three P’s: pee, poo and toilet paper.
The problem with most wipes is that they will not disintegrate in water, so they damage pumps, pipes and other equipment throughout the collection system and at the wastewater facilities, resulting in maintenance headaches.
Some wipes also contain plastic in their weave, and when they get a little beat up, they release microplastics that the treatment process will not remove. Those microplastics can be harmful to fish and other aquatic life.
Legislation labeling and product advancements are making products safer to use.
In 2021, Oregon became the second state to require “Do Not Flush” labeling on disposable wipes. Manufacturers who manufacture covered products, or wholesalers, suppliers, or retailers responsible for labeling or packaging the covered products, are subject to Oregon’s requirement. Covered products include premoistened nonwoven disposable wipe marketed as a baby wipe or diapering wipe; premoistened nonwoven disposable wipe that is composed entirely of or in part of petrochemical derived fibers, and that are likely to be used in a bathroom and has a significant potential to be flushed.
The industry is changing, and product advancements include some wipes that actually do break down. This is good news for the environment – and as environmental stewards we are thrilled. While some newer wipes break down, most wipes are quite strong and can take 100 years to decompose in the landfill. Hopefully advancements continue and the wipes industry moves in the right direction towards 100% fully compostable wipes. In the meantime, wipes of all kinds are best to be trashed and never flushed.
