Mayors: "Flushable" wipes are not flushable

So called flushable wipes may flush down the toilet, but they don’t decompose. 

At the Regional Board of Mayors meeting on Monday, Electric City Mayor Diane Kohout said that the city’s public works director Jarred Armstrong has noted a problem with flushable wipes causing problems with the septic systems due to them not decomposing. 

Armstrong wasn’t at the meeting to elaborate.

“Toilet paper is designed to disintegrate in our pipes and sewage systems, but wipes are not,” an article on the website of the non-profit company Green America reads. “They’re typically made with synthetic materials, plastics or polyester, that won’t break down. So even if they flush down your toilet, they end up clogging our sewers. This poses hazardous risks to sewage professionals that must break these clogs up as well as considerable costs. Some cities have spent millions of dollars a year to address damages and clear the pipes.”

Grand Coulee Mayor Paul Townsend blamed the companies that make the wipes for calling them flushable. Elmer City Mayor Pro Tempore Michael Humiston brought up the idea of suing them and was curious if a dollar amount in damages in terms of man hours and repairs could be found.

“Companies can currently label wipes as ‘flushable’ simply because they aren’t restricted from doing so,” Green America explains. 

The mayors discussed the importance of educating the public on the topic and suggested printing a note on the utility bills sent to residents.

“We don’t want to have to raise rates because of something like this,” Townsend said. 

https://www.greenamerica.org/blog/are-flushable-wipes-really-flushable