"Flushable" wipes?
By: Kate Browne On:16 August 2020
Kate Browne at Choice Wrote this article about "flushable wipes" ... We have taken what she says to heart and will be amending our labelling! Please note, our bamboo liners and wipes are COMPOSTABLE, ORGANIC and BIODEGRADABLE - unlike the supermarket brands which are mostly made using petroleum based materials! This means that when you bin your wipes and liners - they will degrade once they reach the landfill unlike the petroleum based ones!
Here is Kate's article - please read and be informed! thanks mums! xxx
By Kate Browne
Last updated: 2nd November 2015
The wipes market, and the uses for wipes, has exploded. A stroll down any supermarket aisle now reveals wet wipes for make-up removal, toddlers' noses, floor cleaning, toilet cleaning, toilet training and even (wait for it...) adult bums – promising to leave users "extra clean and fresh".
To make things even easier for us consumers, we're told (on the packaging) that many of these wipes are now "flushable", which means rather than using the bin, you can toss it into the toilet and flush it out of your life just like toilet paper.
But are they really flushable? Not according to Australia's water service providers, who are spending an estimated $15 million a year, and growing, to clear blockages they say are largely caused by wet wipes.
The quick and dirty facts
- One in four people in Sydney is flushing wet wipes.
- Sydney Water has removed more than 1000 tonnes of wet wipe materials from its wastewater system in the past two years. If laid end-to-end, that's enough wet wipes to reach LA and back again.
- Wet wipes increase the risk of pipe blockages and overflows to local creeks and rivers.
- About 75% of all sewer blockages involve wet wipes.
(Info provided by Sydney Water)
