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NACWA has signed on to an international water industry position statement on non-flushable and “flushable” labeled products, which addresses wipes and other personal hygiene products. NACWA has been focused on the wipes issue for several years as part of its Toilets Are Not Trashcans campaign to keep inappropriate products and unnecessary product additives out of sewer systems to protect water quality and the pipes, pumps, plants, and personnel of the nation’s wastewater utilities. 

This Advocacy Alert provides information about the position statement and invites NACWA Member Agencies to sign on to the statement individually as well. Please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to add your utility to the statement or if you have any questions.

Position Statement

The position statement was written by an international group of wastewater utilities and associations that has been discussing the wipes issue as part of an ongoing process to develop an International Organization for Standardization (ISO) technical specification on flushability. NACWA has been participating in this discussion group along with two representatives from Member Agencies: Frank Dick, Vice Chair of the NACWA Pretreatment Committee and Sewer and Wastewater Engineering Supervisor at the City of Vancouver – Public Works (WA); and Rob Villee, Executive Director of the Plainfield Area Regional Sewerage Authority (NJ). The international group has agreed that the following position statement would be helpful to clearly state the wastewater utility community’s opinion on wipes and other personal hygiene products that are likely to be flushed:

To prevent problems with sewer systems, pipe and toilet blockages, and the human and environmental cost of sewer overflows and pollution, the organizations signing this statement agree that:

• Only the 3 Ps – pee, poop, and toilet paper – should be flushed.
  
  
• Currently, all wipes and personal hygiene products should be clearly marked as “Do Not Flush” and be disposed of in the trashcan.
  
  
• Wipes labeled “Flushable” based on passing a manufacturers’ trade association guidance document should be labelled “Do Not Flush” until there is a standard agreed to by the water and wastewater industry.
  
  
• Consumers of wipes and personal hygiene products must be given clear and unambiguous information about appropriate disposal methods.
  
  
• Looking to the future, new innovations in materials might make it possible for certain products to be flushed, if they pass a technical standard that has been developed and agreed to by the water and wastewater industry*. Preferably this standard would be developed under the banner of the International Standards Organization (ISO).
  
  
• Key requirements for any standard include that the product:

1. 1. breaks into small pieces quickly;
      
      
   2. must not be buoyant; and
      
      
   3. does not contain plastic or regenerated cellulose and only contains materials which will readily degrade in a range of natural environments.

*and in compliance with local legislative requirements

Utilities Encouraged to Sign on to Statement

As NACWA and other wastewater associations continue to work on improving flushability standards and the labeling of non-flushable products, as well as educating the public that toilets are not trashcans, the international position statement will demonstrate to lawmakers and government agencies across the globe that the wastewater industry has a unified approach to the wipes issue.

The statement has received support internationally from many wastewater associations and utilities, and NACWA Member Agencies are invited to add their utilities to the statement. Utilities that would like to do this should contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . The statement is expected to be released publicly on September 21, but utilities will continue to be added to statement on an ongoing basis.