Thanks to a new Michigan law, the disposable wipes package atop your toilet tank should start to display a new label — if it doesn't already — to indicate the wipes should not to be flushed.
The bill about labeling on packages of wipes was signed into law by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in May, a year after it was introduced in the Michigan House by state Rep. Denise Mentzer, D-Mount Clemens, who in a May news release called it an "environmentally conscious policy."
State officials said the new law requires disposable wipes to have "Do Not Flush" labels on the packages in an effort to prevent damage to pipes and sewers, and eventually septic tanks, pump stations and treatment plants where wipes end up. For years, officials locally, nationally and internationally have said wipes clog wastewater systems , causing a costly problem — in the millions of dollars — to remediate.
While wipes may be flushable, they said, many are not biodegradable. They said the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the problem.
The Responsible Flushing Alliance announced in a July news release its support of the new law. It stated Michigan is one of seven states to require labeling on such wipes that should not be flushed. Other states include California, Washington, Oregon, Illinois, Colorado and New Jersey, according to the alliance.
"If we can educate people about not flushing wipes with the 'Do Not Flush' symbol, paper towels and feminine hygiene products, that would eliminate over 90% of things that shouldn't be flushed," Lara Wyss, alliance president, stated in the release.
The Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry (INDA) issued a statement Monday about the Michigan law, stating it applies to any disposable nonflushable wipe product that is "marketed as a baby or diapering wipe" and plastic-containing wipes that are "likely to be used in a bathroom and (have) significant potential to be flushed" and pertain to the "Do Not Flush" symbol requirement on nonflushable wipes.
The law, INDA stated, will not ban the sale of products labeled "flushable."
"The law does not apply to flushable wipes, which are made from short, plant-based fibers that are engineered to break down in water similar to toilet paper. The law does require wipes that were never intended for flushing prominently display the 'Do Not Flush' symbol on packaging," according to the group's news release.
It stated the group and the wipes industry supported the law, and the seven states to pass do-not-flush labeling mandate for nonflushable wipes have near identical labeling requirements.
"Our industry worked hand in hand with the wastewater sector to support this language in California in 2021; other states have adopted this legislation including New Jersey, Washington, Oregon, Colorado, and Illinois," INDA’s Director of Government Affairs Wes Fisher stated in the release.
"Michigan is going to be one of the leaders in the nation," said Macomb County Public Works Commissioner Candice Miller, who has been pushing for this change, which was a bipartisan effort, for years.
"What it requires is that all of these personal wipes, whether they're baby wipes, makeup wipes, you know, whatever they are, that they have to be labeled very clearly: 'Do Not Flush.' That's it. 'Do Not Flush.' And many of them will probably also say 'nonbiodegradable,' " she told the Free Press on July 31.
Miller said at one pump station, a piece of equipment called "the rake" goes into the wet well 60 feet below ground and snags as many wipes as it can; comes up; turns, and dumps the wipes into a Dumpster.
"We take out Dumpsters full every day. That's just at one site," Miller said. "We have a number of areas where we've had to put in cutters — you know, like cutters, literally trying to cut these things because they all rag together."
When asked how much has been removed, Miller said: "It's almost incalculable. I mean, I don't know. We're taking out Dumpsters every day just at one station. I don't know — tons."
Miller said she's not telling people not to use wipes.
"Go ahead and use them, just throw them in the garbage. Don't flush them down the drain," she said, adding that she believes the new law eventually will change the mindset and culture of how wipes are disposed of, especially for younger people, the next generation to be trained to not flush wipes.
In May 2020, Miller announced she was filing a federal lawsuit against companies that represented the vast majority of disposal wipes produced and sold in the U.S. to change their labeling and marketing practices. She also called on federal lawmakers to pass legislation that would require a similar change.
Officials said Friday the lawsuit was withdrawn when county officials realized that one county department wasn't going to be able to take on litigation against an entire industry. However, they said, they believe the lawsuit increased awareness of the need for legislation.
In June 2024, the U.S. House passed a bipartisan, bicameral act that would require the Federal Trade Commission to create a uniform label for products that have or require a "Do Not Flush" label, according to a June 11 news release from U.S. Rep. Lisa McClain, R-Bruce Township.
McClain sponsored the Wastewater Infrastructure Pollution Prevention and Environmental Safety (WIPPES) Act and introduced it with a representative from Alaska and senators from Oregon and Maine.
"With thousands of products on the market, it is past time a standardized label for non-flushable products be created to alleviate confusion and protect our water systems," McClain stated in her office's release. "Every year, millions of pounds of non-flushable products are sent into our sewer systems, leading to massive blockages that cost millions of dollars to remove. The WIPPES Act will help to provide much needed consistency and clarity over which products consumers can flush and which ones need to be disposed of elsewhere."
INDA stated in its release that the group and the wipes industry lent support to the national WIPPES Act, which it stated passed the U.S. House with 82% support, for the same do-not-flush labeling standards.
It stated INDA provided technical support for a recent, large-scale sewage collection study that showed nonflushable wipes labeled with the "Do Not Flush" symbol — including baby, surface cleaning and beauty and personal care wipes, paper towels, trash and hygiene products as "comprising 99% of items creating concerns for wastewater operators."
U.S. Rep. Mary Sattler Peltola, D-Alaska, stated in McClain's release that, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Anchorage wastewater workers pulled up to 6,000 pounds of wipes daily out of the sewer system. Oregon's wastewater facilities face costly repairs from wipes, U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, stated, adding wipes also can break down into harmful microplastics, according to the release.
"Many consumers who use wet wipes are unaware that flushing these products creates significant problems for plumbing, wastewater treatment equipment, and septic systems," U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, stated in the McClain release. "This legislation would require manufactures to label non-flushable wet wipes, providing consumers with the information they need to safely dispose of them."
The issue is stuck in the U.S. Senate, said Miller and Dan Wunderlich, McClain's communications director. Wunderlich wrote in an email Friday that "we're still hopeful for some movement on it before the end of the year."
In the meantime, officials in Michigan are pleased the state law is on the books.
In 2018, Macomb County Public Works removed a 19-ton mass of wipes and accumulated grease that attached to the wipes from a sewer system — a goopy mess called a fatberg — which was later donated for research at Wayne State University and displayed at the Michigan Science Center .
A year later, public works removed a 1-ton mass of wipes, dubbed the Ragball, which was thousands of wipes knotted together, from another section of sewer in Macomb County. Both incidents cost Macomb County Public Works about $100,000 to remove, according to an April 2021 news release from Miller's office.
In that release, Miller stated that 70 tons of debris that accumulated over a three-year period was removed from the Northeast Sewage Pumping Station in Detroit in early 2018. Three years later, a crew removed about 270 tons of debris. The station handled sanitary sewage from 23 communities in Macomb and Oakland counties.
That release also stated Miller's office said upwards of 4,000 pounds of wipes a week were removed from the Clintondale Pump Station in Clinton Township, which served four communities, at the start of the pandemic. Prior to the pandemic, about 1,000 pounds of wipes a week were at the pump station.
In Oakland County, workers responded to 474 instances of clogged machinery at local system pump stations in the past six years because of wipes fouling the pumps, according July 10 news release from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy. It stated the work cost taxpayers an estimated $134,000 according to the Water Resources Commissioner's office.
The state release indicated Michigan's nearly 1.5 million septic systems also are at risk from the wipes because they can clog pipes and do not break down in the septic tank, requiring more frequent cleanouts.
"More honest labeling on these products should help people understand the issues they create for our wastewater plant operators and septic system users," Phil Argiroff, director of EGLE's Water Resource Division, said in the July 10 release. "They aren’t, and never were, truly flushable. We're glad to see this being addressed."
What cannot go down the drain
The Responsible Flushing Alliance provided some tips on what not to flush or pour down the drain. They include:
- Baby wipes, diapers and wash cloths
- Tampons and other period products
- Cotton swabs and cotton balls
- Makeup sponges, makeup removal wipes and sheet masks
- Cleaning wipes, paper towels and rags
- Cooking oil, grease and fats
- Trash, wrappers and cat litter
Contact Christina Hall: chall@freepress.com. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter: @challreporter.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: New Michigan law: Labels on packages to indicate wipes aren't flushable
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