Unlike toilet paper, flushable wipes don’t break down in sewers and waterways. These single-use products lead to sewage clogs and can form the core of fatbergs, large masses of solid waste consisting of congealed fat and personal care products that block pipes and lift stations.

These blockages have environmental and economic costs. Flushed wipes cause an estimated $250 million in damage each year to municipal sewer systems in Canada. But this isn’t the consumer’s fault.

Companies shouldn’t be allowed to mislead consumers by falsely labelling their products. Proper labelling would help ensure proper disposal, keeping these wipes out of our waterways and away from our wildlife.

In response, Ecojustice filed an application on behalf of Friends of the Earth Canada, seeking an investigation by the Competition Bureau into false and misleading claims made by the manufacturers of 23 so-called flushable wipes and other single-use products.
We said marketing products as “flushable” is false and misleading. Furthermore, we asserted, there are environmental, and cost consequences associated with consumers believing and acting on those claims.

We have recently experienced this in the MD of Opportunity in Wabasca the costs are not known yet this is becoming more common in smaller centers.