ACCC takes legal action over 'flushable' wet wipes

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has issued proceedings against several companies, over false claims their wet cleaning wipes were “flushable”.

Kimberly-Clark Australia, Pental Limited and Pental Products Pty Ltd will face the Federal Court separately, over alleging some of their wipes products were “flushable” when this was not the case, the ACCC said in a statement yesterday.

The consumer watchdog said labelling the products as “flushable” misled consumers to believe the wipes would break down in sewerage pipes like toilet paper.

"This is a major matter for us, and the allegations we are making are extremely serious," said ACCC chairman Rod Sims.

"These products did not, for example, disintegrate like toilet paper when flushed. Australian water authorities face significant problems when non-suitable products are flushed down the toilet as they contribute to blockages in household and municipal sewerage systems."

A formal complaint was made to the ACCC by consumer advocate group Choice, who found, in collaboration with Sydney Water, the “flushable” wipes didn’t break down in water, even after 20 hours of testing.

Last year, Sydney Water launched a ‘Keep wipes out of the pipes’ campaign to stop people disposing of the wipes down the drain.

“Around 75% of Sydney’s sewer blockages involve flushed wet wipes which often need to be cleared by hand by Sydney Water staff,” Sydney Water’s General Manager Services Delivery, Eric de Rooy, said.

More than 500 tonnes of wet wipes are removed from Sydney’s pipes each year, costing around $8 million.