Are flushable wipes really flushable?

Metro Vancouver’s third annual unflushables campaign is reminding residents to keep wipes and other items like hair, floss and tampons out of the toilets.

Flushing such items down the toilet is causing problems for the region’s wastewater system by damaging pumping equipment and clogging up sewers.

This year’s campaign focuses on wipe products, which are often misleadingly marketed as ‘flushables’.

In a recent study by Ryerson University, not one of the wipe brands tested met the ‘flushable’ specifications developed by the International Water Services Flushability Group (IWSFG). The results showed that wipes remain intact after 30 minutes inside a ‘slosh box’, meaning they are at risk of causing a clog anywhere within the wastewater system. 

Certain wipe products are often labeled ‘flushable’ as they have the ability to make it down the toilet, however their incapability of breaking down means they virtually never get through the sewer system.

 As a rule of thumb, if it’s not coming out of you than leave it out loo!

Besides wipes, Metro Vancouver’s campaign highlights the damage that other unflushables can cause to the sewer system. One notable offender is medication. Not only can medicine block water pipes and damage equipment, they also leak toxic chemicals that pose a threat to the environment.

Medications should be returned to your local pharmacy for proper disposal through the Provincial Medications Return Program.

For Metro Vancouvers’s full guide on what can and cannot be flushed, click HERE.