VicWater welcomes draft Standards for Flushable Products

VicWater welcomes the release of the draft Standards for Flushable Products (DR AS/NZS 5328). The Draft, issued and managed by Standards Australia, will be open for public comment for a nine-week period.

Members of the public can provide feedback on what materials they think should be classified as flushable. Utilities and manufacturers have worked together to define what appropriate labelling might look like, along with the criteria for flushable products.

The world-wide trend of panic-buying toilet paper at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic led to a range of different products being flushed when households were not able to purchase toilet paper. People took to flushing wet wipes, kitchen towel and napkins down the toilet, leading to a substantial rise in blockages.

Flushing materials that aren’t designed for flushing continues to cause a raft of problems for the water industry; it disrupts water services, increases costs, and negatively impacts the environment.

CEO of VicWater, Peter Morison, is pleased about the draft Standards and says: "Wipes can cause major blockages in our sewers, major overflows endangering public health, and costs to customers with expensive and avoidable clean-ups. Having a standard will help us stick to the three Ps of Pee, Poop and Paper in the toilet!"

The Standards have been drafted by a technical committee made up of water utilities, peak bodies manufacturers, local government organisations, suppliers, and consumer groups. The standards will help guide customers to identify which products can be flushed, with clear labelling.

If you would like to contribute to the Standards, you can do so here.
Contributions close on November 1, 2021.