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They seem convenient and disposable enough, and are sometimes marketed as biodegradable or even flushable; but for decades, disposable wipes flushed down toilets have been leading to destructive and expensive clogs in sewer and septic systems all over the U.S.
Municipalities have been pleading with their users not to flush the non-woven cloths as they grew in popularity through the 2010s and spiked during the COVID-19 pandemic. Combined with other solids, grease and fat, wipes have also contributed to massive blockages (called fatbergs, a variation on iceberg) while degrading pumps, stuffing lift stations which help move water through treatment systems and coating filtration systems in filthy glue.
A 2020 study by the National Association of Clean Water Agencies estimated the annual cost of wipes to water utilities at $441 million.
This summer, Michigan became the latest entity to enact a law banning wipes from being marketed as “flushable” and requiring a prominent “do not flush” message on their packaging. In Washington, the House of Representatives passed a bill in June that would do the same under federal law. The bill is currently in the Senate committee process.
This month, the city of Las Cruces began hanging messages on door knobs in select neighborhoods imploring residents not to flush wipes. The door knobs are in service areas where utility workers have noted buildups of wipes at wastewater lift stations, threatening to create blockages that can damage equipment and cause sewage backups.
“Wipes of all kinds should be thrown in the trash and not flushed down a toilet even though packaging may indicate they are ‘flushable,’” a news release from Las Cruces Utilities stated.
A page on the city’s website, labeled “What not to flush,” suggests flushing only “the 3 P’s: pee, poo, and paper (toilet paper).” Unlike toilet paper, paper products like napkins, paper towels and tissue do not disintegrate in water quickly enough to avoid the risk of clogging – and that goes for wipes labeled biodegradable, too.
Other than bodily waste and fluids and toilet paper, the city urges items to be disposed of in trash receptacles. Wrappers, hygiene products, medicines, condoms or their packaging, oil or grease, or chemicals other than toilet-cleaning solutions should not be flushed down the toilet, the city states.
