The modern bathroom cabinet tells a tale of consumer confusion. Shelves lined with wet wipes bear various labels. Some declaring themselves “biodegradable,” others sporting “flushable” claims, and many displaying the increasingly familiar “Do Not Flush” symbol. This labelling maze has created a $440 million annual burden on wastewater treatment facilities across the United States, as consumers struggle to distinguish between products that can safely navigate sewage systems and those that create costly clogs.
The reality is shocking. Only about 10% of wet wipes sold in the US market are genuinely designed to be flushable. The remaining 90% are non-flushable wipes that can contribute to what wastewater professionals have dubbed “fatbergs”, massive accumulations of non-dispersible materials that can shut down treatment facilities and cost municipalities millions in emergency repairs.
The Science Behind the Fiber
At the heart of this confusion lies a fundamental misunderstanding of materials science. Dr Paul Davies, a polymer chemist and director of Crown Abbey Ltd., explains that the engineering of wet wipes involves complex decisions about fiber selection and web formation. “There are many ways to design and produce a wet wipe, and one of those is the choice of fibers,” Davies notes. “What type of fiber depends on the intended end use of the wet wipe. Fiber choices can include cotton, viscose, polyester or wood pulp, to name a few.”
Dr Paul Davies, a polymer chemist and director of Crown Abbey Ltd
The distinction between flushable and non-flushable wipes begins with fiber length and composition. Traditional baby wipes, for example, are engineered for durability. “Parents using baby wipes hate putting their fingers through the wipe,” Davies observes, “and the nonwoven technology advanced to make baby wipes stronger and softer, achieved by using longer fibers strongly bonded together.”
Flushable wipes take the opposite approach. “The fibers selected for flushable wet wipes are much shorter,” Davies explains. “Only short, non-plastic fibers can pass flushability testing. Flushable wipes are engineered to be strong when the fibers are subjected to the forces associated with wiping, and their shorter fibers that are less strongly bound together, allowing the wipe to disperse when subjected to the forces experienced in a wastewater system.”
Beyond Biodegradable: The Flushability Distinction
The marketing term “biodegradable” has become a source of significant consumer confusion, creating a false equivalency with flushability. Davies addresses this misconception directly: “Biodegradable is a term that covers many different things. Whenever we see ‘biodegradable’ we also need to ask, ‘where is it biodegradable?’ A product might be biodegradable in soil but not biodegradable in water, for instance.”
This distinction is crucial for wastewater systems. “A product can be biodegradable but NOT flushable,” Davies emphasizes. ” To ensure flushable wipes are both flushable and biodegradable, a plastic-free requirement has been added. For flushable wipes, the biodegradation requirement is under the conditions found in sewage treatment plants, not specifically just fresh water.”
Lara Wyss, president of the Responsible Flushing Alliance
The manufacturing process for truly flushable wipes mirrors that of toilet paper in many ways. “Many of them are based on the same way toilet paper is made – what’s called a wet-laid process, and a second process, using shorter, non-plastic fibers then entangles the fibers using high-powered jets of water,” Davies explains. “This ensures the fibers can come apart from each other when they are flushed and pass through pipes and sewers.”
Lara Wyss, president of the Responsible Flushing Alliance, admits people are surprised by the complexity involved. “Consumers are often surprised by how much tech and science goes into creating these ubiquitous household items. There is more to wet wipes than meets the eye.”
Testing Flushability
The path to flushable certification involves rigorous testing protocols that go far beyond simple water immersion. Davies dispels common misconceptions about testing methods: “Often people think this is just one test but in fact there are 7 different tests a flushable wipe must pass… and if it fails even one of them, it is not considered flushable.”
These tests simulate real-world conditions within wastewater systems. “The tests all look to simulate what happens to a real wipe when it is flushed; so, they are a combination of drain-clearance as well as disintegration tests,” Davies notes. “Also, importantly they include pump tests, to make sure the wipes don’t clog any of the pumps that are used to get wastewater to the wastewater treatment facilities.”
The informal testing many consumers might attempt at home. Dropping a wipe in water and observing its behavior provides no meaningful data. “Putting a wipe in a jar of water and shaking it is not a valid testing method,” Davies warns. “The shaking may show some signs of dispersal but the actual flushability testing methods are much more complex and involved.”
The Reality of Wastewater Clogs
When wastewater treatment facilities pull massive “rag balls” from their equipment, the visual impression suggests a uniform mass of problematic wipes. However, detailed analysis reveals a different story. Wyss and the Responsible Flushing Alliance participated in a comprehensive study with the California Association of Sanitation Agencies (CASA) and INDA, the wipes trade association, that examined 1,745 items collected from bar screens during peak flow times.
The findings were illuminating: “We found that 34% of the items were wipes specifically labelled with the Do Not Flush symbol,” Wyss reports. “This tells us that the laws requiring the Do Not Flush designation on specific wipes have selected the correct products.”
More surprising was what comprised the majority of clogs. “However, wipes weren’t the most item collected. We found 53% of paper towels (kitchen roll) and 7% of feminine hygiene products,” Wyss notes. “So, if we can persuade people to stop flushing paper towels, wipes labelled Do Not Flush, and period products, that would remove more than 90% of what is clogging wastewater treatment facilities.”
Most telling was the condition of different materials found in the clogs. “What really struck me about the findings was that all the items were fully intact…except the 14 pieces (0.9%) of flushable wipes fragments,” Wyss explains. “This also tells us that the flushability standards are working as each of the flushable wipe fragments were attached to a non-flushable item, but it was in the process of disintegrating.”
The Consumer Education Challenge
Despite ongoing educational efforts, consumer behaviour remains problematic. The Responsible Flushing Alliance’s annual surveys reveal persistent confusion about what can be safely flushed. “Every year we conduct a consumer survey gauging American’s flushing behaviors,” Wyss explains. “Each year we’ve seen improvements across the board, but we still see 48% self-reporting that they flushed something they knew they shouldn’t (down from a high of 61%).”
The reasons behind inappropriate flushing often relate to convenience rather than knowledge. “When we drilled down into the causes, people said if an item encountered bodily fluids they flushed it, and if there wasn’t a trash can, and preferably with a lid, nearby, they’d flush it,” Wyss reports.
Davies advocates for improved education from a personal perspective: “I really want to advocate for improved education around flushing! I have experienced family members flushing things they know they shouldn’t, but they don’t realise the consequences. It can cost a lot of money to get a toilet unblocked. It costs even more money for a blockage at the wastewater plant to be removed!”
The solution, according to Wyss, lies in clear labeling and consistent messaging. “What we try to emphasize at RFA in our consumer education outreach is the importance of reading the label and following what it says. If a wipe doesn’t specifically say it is flushable, it isn’t, so do not flush it. If the wipe is labelled with the Do Not Flush symbol, throw it in the trash. And when in doubt, throw it out.”
Battling Misconceptions
One of the most persistent challenges facing the industry is the widespread misconception that all wipes labeled as flushable are problematic. Wyss addresses this directly: “The challenges I see are the false assumptions that a wipe labeled as flushable is not really flushable. This is common misperception. If people stopped flushing wipes labeled as flushable, we would not make a dent into what is causing fatbergs and other plumbing and wastewater equipment issues.”
The data supports this position. “We’ve seen in several collection studies that flushable wipes are around 1% of the findings and not the cause of clogs or equipment failure,” Wyss notes. The real culprits remain non-flushable products, including paper towels, baby wipes, cleaning wipes, feminine hygiene, and trash.
Another common misconception involves the interpretation of legislation. “We also see headlines saying that laws requiring the Do Not Flush symbol is a ban on flushable wipes. This is not true,” Wyss clarifies. “The laws requiring the Do Not Flush symbol are specific to non-flushable wet wipes including all baby wipes and wipes containing petrochemical-derived fibers and are primarily used in the bathroom.. So, by definition, a flushable wipe cannot contain plastic otherwise it would need the Do Not Flush symbol.”
The Economic Burden
The financial impact of inappropriate flushing extends far beyond individual households. “The estimated financial impact to wastewater agencies across the U.S. is $440 million annually to clean up inappropriately flushed wet wipes,” Wyss reports. “When agencies incur these unplanned expenses, the cost is passed on to the ratepayers.”
This figure represents only the direct costs of clog removal and equipment repair. It doesn’t account for the broader infrastructure impacts, emergency response costs, or the environmental consequences of system failures.
Innovation and Future Developments
The flushable wipe industry continues to evolve, with manufacturers investing in new technologies to improve both performance and dispersibility. Davies expresses optimism about future developments: “I’m excited about the technologies that we have today and the ones I think we will be seeing in the not-too-distant future. Because there are so many variables in designing and producing a wet wipe, there is a lot of room for innovation and improvement.”
Building Industry Consensus
The path forward requires unprecedented collaboration between manufacturers, wastewater authorities, and regulatory bodies. Wyss points to successful bipartisan legislation as an example: “Over the years we’ve seen the wipes industry and wastewater agencies coming together to support legislation around proper labeling of wet wipes. There is a bi-partisan bill in Congress called the WIPPES Act and that is something that is supported by both wipes manufacturers and wastewater groups.”
The Responsible Flushing Alliance has developed creative approaches to consumer education that go beyond traditional messaging. “For example, in 2023, the Clog Monster made his Hollywood debut with a spoof movie trailer demonstrating that just one wipe inappropriately flushed does make a difference. In 2024, we partnered with Detective Vincent Drains and his sidekick Mel, a talking and singing toilet, to solve toilet crimes,” Wyss explains.
For 2025, the organization is focusing on a demographic known to be problematic flushers. “And in 2025, we are going back to basics and focusing on Potty Training for Grown-Ups! We know that the worst offenders for flushing the wrong items are parents with small children in the house and men 18-45 years old.”
A Clear Path Forward
The solution to the flushable wipe crisis doesn’t require abandoning convenience or returning to less effective hygiene products. Instead, it demands that consumers, manufacturers, and wastewater authorities work together to promote understanding and responsible behaviour.
The message is straightforward: read the label, respect the infrastructure, and remember that the toilet is not a trash can. As Wyss emphasizes in her educational campaigns, “When in doubt, throw it out.” Only by following this simple principle can we protect our wastewater systems while maintaining the convenience of modern hygiene products.
The science is clear, the testing is rigorous, and the standards are working. What remains is ensuring that consumers have the knowledge and motivation to make the right choices. With truly flushable wipes representing less than 1% of wastewater clogs, the focus must shift to stopping the inappropriate flushing of paper towels, non-flushable wipes, and other household items that account for more than 90% of the problem.
Resources:
- Responsible Flushing Alliance: flushsmart.org
- California Collection Study Report: http://www.flushsmart.org/wp-content/uploads/CA-Collection-Study-Report-Only-26MAR2024.pdf
- Follow @flushsmart and use #flushsmart for educational materials
