Company to lodge complaint with Advertising Standards Authority over claims that wipes are 'flushable'
Wessex Water is set to file an official complaint with the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) arguing providers of wet wipes should be banned from using the word ‘flushable' in their advertising and marketing material.
The complaint, which is backed by City to Sea, Surfers Against Sewage, Marine Conservation Society (MCS) and Litter Free Coast and Sea, details how at least there are 13,000 each year on the public sewer system in Wessex Water's region alone, with wet wipes responsible for more than two thirds of incidents.
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The company said ‘misleading' branding and packaging gives users the impression wet wipes are ‘flushable' when in fact they clog up sewers, do not break down, and contribute to marine pollution.
It added that it has already written to supermarkets and manufacturers, urging them to market the products more responsibly, and communicates to customers to urge them to not put wet wipes and other non-biodegradable material down their toilets.
However, it is now calling on the ASA to react in response to claims by some wet wipe manufacturers that their products are replacements for toilet roll and can be flushed safely.
"We frequently hear from customers who have flushed wipes which have then caused a blockage," said Matt Wheeldon, director of assets and compliance for Wessex Water. "As a result they have had their garden flooded with sewage and, in worst case scenarios, their homes flooded. These wipes are marketed as flushable but often we find they simply don't break down and cause blockages."
He added that claims by some manufacturers that their products meet 'flushability protocols' underplayed the risk they pose to sewers and the environment. "The reality is that they have made up these protocols themselves - not the sewerage companies who have the horrible job of unblocking the sewers," he said. "The unequivocal evidence is that wet wipes simply don't break down quickly enough, despite claims that they do."
Dr Laura Foster, head of pollution at the MCS, said there was also a clear environmental impact from wet wipes not being disposed of correctly. "We have been working with retailers to get them to change their wipes, and while we have seen changes with commitments to remove microplastics, we also need retailers to either remove their wipes or reformulate them so they pass the water industry standard," she said. "In the meantime the public should only flush pee, poo and paper down the toilet."
The move comes just weeks after the government announced it was bringing forward plans to impose a ban on personal cleaning products that contain plastic microbeads that have been widely blamed for creating marine pollution. As part of the government plans it said it would also investigate how other forms of microplastic beads and threads are leading to pollution and could be better regulated.
A spokesman for the ASA told BusinessGreen is was awaiting the complaint from Wessex Water and would consider it carefully to ascertain whether a full investigation and further action was needed.
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