In June, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Wastewater Infrastructure Pollution Prevention and Environments Safety (WIPPES) Act (H.R. 2964), which would create national standards for “Do Not Flush” labeling for non-flushable wipes. The legislation passed out of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce in December 2023 and has cleared the House floor in a bipartisan vote. The bill now awaits consideration in the Senate Science, Commerce, and Energy Committee.

This bipartisan legislation is intended to address the growing problem of sewer system clogs caused by improper disposal of consumer wipes that are not intended to be flushed down the toilet. This federal solution is the result of a years-long industry collaboration between the disposable wipes industry and wastewater operators which has resulted in the passage of similar legislation in seven states. The WIPPES Act will create a national standard based on existing state laws to ensure non-flushable wipes will carry prominent “Do Not Flush” labeling on packaging. 

Stakeholders on both sides of the issue have reached out in support of the legislation.

“The damage from improperly flushed wet wipes and other non-flushable products have placed a costly burden on public wastewater utilities,” says Adam Krantz, CEO, National Association of the Clean Water Agencies (NACWA). “Labeling these items is an important step in consumer education that will ultimately benefit utilities and their ratepayers by protecting critical wastewater infrastructure.”

In the report “The Cost of Wipes on America’s Clean Water Utilities,” NACWA estimates that improper flushing of wipes result in about $441 million a year in additional operating costs at U.S. clean water utilities. This study, published in 2020, was designed to help wipes manufacturers, users and policy makers better understand the cost of wipes when they are either flushed down toilets despite being labeled as not flushable or flushed as flushable wipes that have not passed testing guidelines established by the experts. 

The WIPPES Act legislation, which was sponsored in the House by Representative by Lisa McClain (R-MI) and Representative Mary Peltola (D-AK) and was introduced in the Senate by Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), is intended to offer clear and consistent labeling that will lead to improved consumer education and awareness of what should and should not be flushed. The products that are labeled as being safe to flush must past stringent testing guidelines developed and endorsed by both the wipes and wastewater industries.

What’s at Fault

According to a recent collection study held in California, flushable wipes, which have passed industry-approved testing and labeling guidelines, represented less than 1% of the items collected, and in many cases the few flushable wipes found in the sewer already showed evidence of breaking down. Meanwhile, paper products represented the lion’s share of the 1745 items collected in the study, 53%, and wipes, labeled with the “Do Not Flush” symbol, represented 34%. Feminine hygiene items represented 7%.

The two studies were conducted in October 2023. The two locations for the study include the Inland Empire Utilities Agency (IEUA) in Southern California and Central Contra Costa Sanitary District (Central San) in the greater San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California. Representatives of the wipes industry supply chain, the wastewater industry and an independent engineering firm participated in the collection study.

A Successful Collaboration

Led by INDA, the Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry, the wipes industry’s efforts to help manufacturers and consumers better differentiate between flushable and non-flushable wipes started two decades ago with the establishment of a special flushability task force, made up of stakeholders throughout the wipes industry supply chain. Efforts have yielded flushability and labeling guidelines for wipes that would satisfy both manufacturers of wet wipes and members of the wastewater industry and hopefully lessen misconceptions that flushable wipes are responsible for sewage problems. 

Since the issuance of the first guidelines for flushability in 2008, INDA has updated this document four times. Most recently, the fourth edition of the guidance document was published in 2018 with the support and input of wastewater industry representatives, offering more stringent testing methods as well as an updated Code of Practices requiring the Do Not Flush logo to feature prominently on packaging of wipes that should not be flushed. 

These labeling practices are better educating consumers on bathroom habits, and so far, they seem to be working. According to a recent survey conducted by the Responsible Flushing Alliance, 41.8% of consumers have become more thoughtful about what they flush over the last six months and 48% ranked product packaging as a top place to look for disposable instructions on wipes. As a national standard the WIPPES Act would support clear and consistent labeling across the U.S., replicating what some states—Washington, Oregon, Illinois, Colorado and Michigan—are already doing to tackle wastewater challenges because non-flushable wipes comprise the majority of items creating concerns for wastewater operators as indicated by several collection studies.

“Wastewater advocates decided to take the California language to Congress to propose a national Do Not Flush labeling requirement, and what is now the WIPPES Act started its life as a section of the Break Free from Plastic Pollution Act in a previous two-year congressional session,” says Wes Fischer, INDA director of Government Affairs. “In the last Congress, the language was pulled from that bill into a standalone bill which became the WIPPES Act, and INDA signed on to support the legislation after it was slightly amended to fully comply with existing state requirements.” 

According to Fischer, the WIPPES Act started to move in the U.S. House last fall and was amended in committee to streamline the language to align it to other federal requirements and to reduce rule-making efforts that would be required by the Federal Trade Commission which is tasked with enforcing the potential law. The Act passed the committee on a unanimous 31-0 vote and passed the full U.S. House in June with over 82% support. 

Most manufacturers and distributors of disposable wipes—both flushable and non-flushable—operate on a national, if not global, scale. Likewise, the retailers they work with also operate beyond state borders. Having a unified national standard would clear up confusion on labeling and testing requirements that vary from state to state.

“If the Senate passes the WIPPES Act and it is signed into law by the President, the wipes industry would greatly benefit by having one single standard to follow and would not have to worry about one state passing a labeling bill with a similar intention but with far different requirements that would make it infeasible to distribute wipe products on a national scale,” Fischer adds.

So far, there has not been any pushback from the industry on the legislation and many of INDA’s association partners including the Center for Baby and Adult Hygiene Products (BAHP), the Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA), ISSA, The Worldwide Cleaning Industry Association, and the Personal Care Products Council (PCPC) have signed on to support the legislation. 

In fact, nearly all wipes manufacturers, many of which have been instrumental in the creation of these standards, have already been compliant for some time.

“Due to the fact that seven states have already passed these requirements, we are already virtually seeing national compliance with the requirements, so it is unlikely manufacturers will have to change anything to comply with the WIPPES Act as long as they comply with existing state requirements,” Fischer adds.

A Growth Market

As flushable wet wipes continue to gain traction with consumers thanks to the increased hygiene benefits they offer, the market for flushable wipes has rapidly become a major segment within the disposable wipes market. The flushable category is projected to double in terms of tonnage between 2015 and 2025 reaching 68,900 tons, and growth could even be stronger moving forward. This means that in the next 12 months, moist toilet tissue’s share of the North American toilet paper market should hit 10% as growth of wet products, at 28%, outpace dry products, which are growing about 10% per year.

This means more consumers have wipes in their bathrooms making consumer education more important than ever before, and on the state level these efforts seem to be working.

In its enactment of a law requiring non-flushable wipes to prominently display a “Do Not Flush” logo on product packaging, California legislators included educational requirements, recognizing that part of the challenge is the significant gap in consumer knowledge about how to properly dispose non-flushable wipes. In response, the Responsible Flushing Alliance has launched a FlushSmart campaign including a comprehensive statewide consumer education campaign, a multimedia campaign, participation in a sewage collection study and other community outreach programs. 

“Already, stakeholders have seen an uptick in awareness and adoption of our #FlushSmart messaging, through our outreach, social media, and advertising plans,” says RFA president Lara Wyss. “However, to truly move the needle, wipes and personal products manufacturers must support these efforts.” 

Other aspects of RFA’s outreach include a consumer opinion survey every year for five years assessing behaviors and awareness regarding disposal of non-flushable wipes; providing wastewater agencies with consumer education messaging and reporting to the California Senate and Assembly environmental committees on and annual basis and submit an annual report for posting on the state water board website.

“Providing consumers with information about smart flushing habits continues to be important as evidenced by our national 2024 survey where 53% of Americans reported flushing something they knew they shouldn’t,” says Wyss. “We definitely support the WIPPES act as another tool, combined with our #FlushSmart educational campaign, to help change consumer behaviors.”

According to findings from RFA’s national survey, 58.3% of consumers check a package to see if a product is flushable and 78% say they are very familiar with the Do Not Flush symbol. Additionally, 41.8% reported being more thoughtful about what they flushed over the last six months

“As a co-sponsor of the Proper Labeling of Wet Wipes law, we recognized the importance of educating Californians about not treating their toilets as a trash can,” says Adam Link, executive director of CASA. “We’ve all seen the huge rag balls pulled from clogged sewer lines, and through this study we are taking a forensic approach by untangling those products and determining what is actually being flushed. These efforts will help inform our educational outreach.”

Currently about 90% of wipes sold in the U.S. are non-flushable, meaning that proper labeling is exceptionally important to keep them out of toilets. Unlike non-flushable wipes, flushable wipes are made with 100% plant-based fibers and are designed to break down in water, similar to toilet paper. In addition to promoting testing and labeling guidelines, the wipes industry has improved upon the science behind flushable wipes over the past two decades, meaning that flushable wipes on the market today disperse much more quickly than previous generation materials. 

“I think as we have improved the flushability standards, we have legitimately enhanced the products to be much more dispersible and do what they are supposed to do,” says Matt O’Sickey, INDA’s director of Education & Technical Affairs. “Now, we have to continue and strengthen consumer education efforts. The labeling is there, but we have to make sure that people really do understand that one wipe does make a difference.”

O’Sickey, who participated in the sewage collection study, visited all of the major grocery, mass market and big box retailers in California and bought every type of wipe to create a sample board of wipe products. All but two of the samples, both bought at dollar stores and manufactured prior to the start of the wet wipes law, were properly labeled.

“People who are making current products are complying with the requirements so I was happy to see that,” he says.