If you use any kind of wipes you need to read this..

[Smashtheglass18]

If you are a MNetter who still flushes anything except pee, poo and toilet paper down the toilet... "All wet wipes sold as "flushable" in the UK have so far failed the water industry's disintegration tests, the BBC has found.Wet wipes will flush - in that they will disappear down the U-bend of your toilet. The problem is what happens to them next."

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-46188354

So annoying. Why make a bloody product that doesn’t do the one thing it’s supposed to! The companies should be made to pay to remove the fatburg

I’m only 30 but I never remember tampon packaging saying you could flush, it was just what we were told by older women
I've just checked a new packet of Tampax.

It says we recommend not flushing used tampons if a bin is available. The applicator and cover should not be flushed.

Surely putting wipes and tampons in the bin mean they end up in landfill?

So annoying. Why make a bloody product that doesn’t do the one thing it’s supposed to! The companies should be made to pay to remove the fatburg angry

Yes they should. They might take heed then and guide the eternally without common sense amongst our population.

Surely putting wipes and tampons in the bin mean they end up in landfill?

Yes, your point being?

My ds did a beach clean up recently and couldn't believe the amount of wipes mixed in with seaweed , he said there were more wipes than anything else, they filled 10 bags in 2 hours!

giggorata not ideal but much better than blocking the sewers?

My point being that they take years to break down in the landfill, which is where they are most likely to end up. Most wipes are made from a combination of polyester, polypropylene, cotton, wood pulp, and rayon fibers, many of which are not biodegradable.
I know flushing them is even worse but water treatment plant workers have to fish them out and dispose of them (along with countless plastic tampon applicators), so they end up in landfill anyway..

I hate when things are given a misleading name, strapline or description.

“Flushable” wipes is one, it makes people think they are harmless. “Outdoor bred” on pork is another, it makes people think it’s free-range/higher welfare and it doesn’t really mean anything.

Aw, thanks, ozzy. I really don't think the problems we have on this planet need to be laid at the door of the vast majority of mothers struggling to love and bring up their children, do you? I think there are way better people to get angry with and ask them to change their ways. Derailing thread a bit I know - bankers, fat cats.

Back to wetwipes - if people CAN stop using them it would be good if they do so. It's like the plastic straw thing, we need not to ban them because some disabled people rely on them, but people who don't NEED them it would be good if they stopped using them. Knee-jerk blanket reactions rarely work long-term.

I used wipes when my kids were little, but for emergencies. MY daughter now uses them for everything with her daughter. I can't convince her, but I do use reusable wipes when we look after her daughter.

They're so convenient when used with a spray bottle (water with a couple of drops of lemongrass oil and almond oil) - shake, spray, wipe. The wipes can be washed on a hot wash with white towels and sheets.

Handkerchieves too - tissues have been easy to give up.

It’s unreasonable to blame people for buying a readily available product and using it as described.

If they were just removed from the market, we’d adjust and find a satisfactory alternative. Sometimes that’s what it takes. Public smoking ban, compulsory seat belts, plastic bag tax, all radical adjustments that have made life better and safer for everyone.

Surely putting wipes and tampons in the bin mean they end up in landfill

Where I live most non-recyclable waste goes to incineration to generate electricity (Hampshire). I don't use wipes at the moment, but have done - or rather ds did after going to the loo. He did flush them because they said on the packet that you could. But we don't use them anymore.

We were never allowed to flush any sanitary products in my parents' home, because for some reason, their drain rose towards the road instead of descending (something to do with subsidence and bomb damage, they said). Anyway, whatever the reason, we had to be very careful because if you even used too much bog paper, it could clog the bastard drain and we had to rod it to clear it. Dad even had his own set of drain rods so we didn't have to pay to get someone out each time!

I've never flushed wipes because of this early training.

@gamerchick I don’t use them, just think that the mis advertising shouldn’t be allowed...

reusable wipes are brilliant.

I am using the nappies and muslins and wipes I had for DC as face wash wipes for me to take off my make up and the tattiest ones are kitchen cloths.

I use them very rarely and never flush them down the toilet.
I learned a hard lesson a few years ago on that one!

Great link echt. I wish I could show my neighbours, I live on a terrace and someone keeps clogging the drains with wipes causing sewage to overflow into my garden . I have posted a polite note through doors and the council have written to everybody, but it's still happening!

According to the BBC thing this morning though, NONE of the wipes currently on the market completely dissolve. The industry expert said one was very close but none met industry guidelines completely. Not even the posh Waitrose ones!

@PiperPublickOccurrences The Waitrose own brand ones in the white packet do flush. I have a packet upstairs, do you want me to film it in the sink?

I'm finding it really hard to comprehend the apathy for the environment. People keep saying it's not ideal about landfill or that you can't handle the extra hassle....what about in 12 years when the catastrophic effects we are having on the environment become irreversible?! Then those children (and their children) whose hands you're wiping with wet wipes will live with the effects. We all have to make changes and stop using single use items now! There are plenty of alternatives. Reusable sanitary products or mooncup, cheeky wipes (or just a cut up old towel), reusable nappies, reusable straws. Just saying you haven't got time is in my opinion not a good enough excuse when we are literally running out of time to save this planet and our species! Yes the big companies have to make changes, but they respond to public opinion and demand. If you don't use them they will have to make better alternatives. I know this is an emotive subject but really we all have to start taking individual responsibility and stop being so apathetic.

That, of course, should have read:

@PiperPublickOccurrences The Waitrose own brand ones in the white packet do disintegrate. I have a packet upstairs, do you want me to film it in the sink?

I'm mid 50s & I always thought that flushing even "flushable" things was only when three was no other option.

This is why I'm using reusable wipes and nappies. They just go in the wash every couple of days. Easy. No more inconvenient than washing your own underwear.

Reusable wipes are brilliant- and so much nicer than disposable ones (child with sensory issues to the material, excepted).
I think it's a real shame they aren't better marketing/available.
Or perhaps the manufacturers of disposable wipes just have marketed themselves well. I know when my 2 were little, so many mums seemed to use wipes for everything - most claimed to get through several packets a week.