Supermarket shelves flushed with first Australian flushable wet wipes

A local manufacturer has become the first Australian company to produce a certified flushable wet wipe, with its maiden batch now hitting Foodland’s shelves – providing consumers with a flush-friendly alternative to help reduce the impact of wet wipes on the environment and essential infrastructure.

Water utilities across Australia and the globe continue to grapple with the impact of traditional wet wipes, which don’t break down like toilet paper and clog up sewerage networks.

Based in Woodville North, The Hygiene Co. – who makes the flushable wet wipes – recently became the first Australian manufacturer to achieve certification to the new Australian and New Zealand Flushable Products Standard, AS/NZS 5328:2022.

The Hygiene Co.’s flushable wipe fabric underwent seven stages of testing as part of the certification process, including clearing plumbing lines and breaking apart readily.

Made with wood pulp, the new wipes are part of the company’s stable of plastic-free cleaning and hygiene products under their CleanLIFE brand.

Three of the CleanLIFE products are certified as flushable and feature a ‘certified to flush’ symbol on its packaging, with the brand’s stronger textured cleaning range not intended to be flushable.

There were 1,155 blockages caused by wet wipes across Adelaide in 2022-23 reported to SA Water, plus many more issues resolved by plumbers at private houses.

SA Water spent more than $2 million last financial year to redirect ‘unflushable’ materials – such as wet wipes – from pipes, pump stations and wastewater treatment plants to landfill.

Typically, two-thirds of blockages caused by wet wipes occur at a property’s sewerage connection, which increases the risk of an overflow inside the house.

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Quotes

Attributable to Nick Champion

It’s great to see a South Australian business leading the way by investing in sustainable products that will help reduce the impact of wet wipes on essential sewerage infrastructure.

This Australian first has the potential to significantly reduce the amount of time and money spent removing wet wipes from our sewer system.

Wastewater infrastructure is critical, and we have an ageing sewerage network so important innovations like flushable wet wipes will ensure our sewers continue to help South Australians.

Attributable to Phil Scardigno, Director, The Hygiene Co.

We’re incredibly proud to be the first Australian-owned manufacturer to deliver a certified flushable wet wipe to the market and flip the script on these products.

The standard has opened the door to designing wet wipes that are suitable for flushing down the loo, and it inspired us to pioneer its use while setting a new benchmark for how wet wipes are manufactured.

Unlike traditional wet wipes, our flushable fabric is non-woven and is made to mirror toilet paper by breaking down quickly in water as it flows through the sewer network.

It’s an exciting space to be in, as there’s a lot of other applications beyond wet wipes and our hope is this will encourage the wider industry to elevate their own products.

Attributable to Franklin dos Santos, Chief Executive Officer, Foodland Supermarkets Australia

We take immense pride in stocking quality local brands, and we’re thrilled to get this innovative CleanLIFE product into our South Australian stores.

As a retailer, we have an ethical responsibility to source products that live up to their claims – and in the case of wet wipes – this means working with suppliers to ensure they’re factually presenting how they can be used.

Correct and informative labelling to help consumers easily identify wet wipes that can be safely flushed is something we’ll continue to champion.

With such a broad range of products on the market, we want our consumers to have confidence in what they’re purchasing from our shelves.