Flushable Certification: A step towards plastic reduction

ITV's news report states

"What a waste: £250k spent towards removing wipes from sewage"

It reports:

"Wet wipes and other items, flushed down toilets, costs Jersey's waste team £250,000 a year to clear up. States workers are finding it hard to maintain, after people continually putting items down the toilet that cannot be easily broken down. Wet wipes are one of the biggest problems, however items like sanitary towels, cotton buds and dental floss have also been found in the system. Staff say they have found towels, underwear, nappies and even jeans in the sewer too."

It's a problem in Guernsey too, where Madeleine Norman writes:

"People think they're just made of wet tissue but unfortunately they've got quite a high plastic component to them. A lot of them do say they're flush-able but actually they're not and they take a long time to break down."

But there is an alternative on the horizon. Plastic free, certified flushable items. Having fallen foul of the ABA last November for claiming by EU standards, their products were "flushable", Andrex Washlets now have British certification:

"British toiletries brand Andrex has today (27 February) announced that its washlet wipes range has achieved Water UK's 'Fine to Flush' certification, which symbolises that flushing them won't contribute to damage to UK sewers. Andrex, owned by American corporate giant Kimberly-Clark, will place the Fine to Flush logo on its Washlet products from today. The wipes were independently tested by technical experts WRc, with the results finding that the products break down upon entering UK sewer systems and won't contribute to “fatbergs” that clog up sewer systems or seep into the natural environment."

“Our Andrex Washlets have adhered to international flushable standards for many years and we are very proud of the investment we have made to now also secure Water UK’s ‘Fine to Flush’ certification,” Kimberly-Clark UK’s vice president and managing director Ori Ben Shai said. “We want other companies to follow the example of Andrex and make sure their products pass the ‘Fine to Flush’ test too. Everyone wants a future without fatbergs, and this will help make that a reality.”

And they are not the only ones. The Daily Mail reports that:

"'Fine to flush' wet wipes will hit UK stores for the first time next month after being given official certification for passing strict sewer tests. Organic health and beauty brand Natracare are the first to carry the symbol and claim that the moist tissue wipes, which cost £1.99, will fully break down in drains."

The Fine to Flush website notes:

"Although there has been an increase in products being labelled ‘Do Not Flush’, there are many wipes on the market labelled ‘Flushable’ which do not break down quickly when they enter the sewer system, and which would not pass the stringent tests which meet the standard to receive the ‘Fine to Flush’ symbol. The labelling of these products can cause confusion amongst consumers, increasing the problem of sewer blockages."

It is clearly better NOT to flush items down the toilet, but given the problems with persuading consumers in the long term, where a certified flushable alternative exists, it might be easier to persuade consumers to opt for those products, as they contain no plastic. The other products, even when binned, contain plastics which are not good for the environment.

Links
https://www.itv.com/news/channel/2020-03-03/what-a-waste-250m-spent-towards-removing-wipes-from-sewage/
https://www.edie.net/news/5/Andrex-wet-wipes-certified-as--fine-to-flush--by-Water-UK/
https://www.water.org.uk/policy-topics/managing-sewage-and-drainage/fine-to-flush/