Four of Auckland's local boards have drafted and endorsed a joint letter advocating for a ban on flushable wipes after it was revealed they cost the super city $4m annually to remove from the wastewater network.
The problem is ‘fatbergs', which form when flushed non-biodegradable wipes, fat, oil, and grease combine, creating a hard mass of congealed waste that can block and damage sewage infrastructure.
The northern local boards — Devonport-Takapuna, Kaipatiki, Hibiscus and Bays and Upper Harbour — have drafted and endorsed a letter requesting the Waste Advisory Board to advise the incoming Minister for the Environment that an "urgent ban" is required.
Local board member Melissa Powell, who initiated the letter, became interested in the issue following a visit to a Watercare treatment plant earlier this year when staff showed local board members all the non-treatable material, including wet wipes, that was to be dumped at landfills.
“Their frustration was what motivated me to think 'how can we make a change to legislation around this?'” said Powell.
The letter recommends that the Minister amend Article 9 of the Waste Minimisation Act 2008 to designate flushable wipes as a 'priority product', just as single-use plastic bags were in 2019.
Powell believed a blanket ban on flushable wipes would change behaviour in a similar way to the ban on plastic bags.
"We all just got used to it."
She said there are two main reasons for this advocacy: the economic strain that Auckland Council is under right now and the environmental cost of dumping material.
"It just seems like we need to have a real laser focus on how we can save money. That's $4 million that could be better spent somewhere else.”
Blockages in the wastewater system can also lead to sewage resurfacing through domestic or commercial pipes, causing flooding and polluting Auckland’s waterways.
Watercare head of service delivery Sharon Danks said that Watercare does not propose a ban on wet wipes, but rather that they are disposed of in the bin.
"We advocate for standardised and compulsory testing at the flushable products standard across New Zealand and Australia."
“In recent years, products have been introduced in the marketplace that claim to be toilet flushable or are likely to be flushed down the toilet because they are used in bathrooms.
“Some of these products are not compatible with our wastewater systems and can lead to blockages.”
A world-first flushability standard was introduced last year which allows consumers to identify flushable products by way of a symbol on packaging.
Three brands of wet wipes have passed the Australian and NZ standards, but there are many products that are on sale that have not passed the standard.
She said that the current campaign was working to make Aucklanders more aware of what they can and cannot flush.
"Since 2019, we have been actively encouraging Aucklanders not to tip fats, oils, and grease down the sink and to only flush the 3Ps – pee, poo, and toilet paper down the loo."
However, one in three Aucklanders will likely flush ‘flushable wet wipes’ into the wastewater network, she said.
Water NZ chief executive Gillian Blythe said that wet wipes cause a conservative estimate of $16m worth of damage to sewage infrastructure across the country.
"This is a major environmental issue as well as a huge cost to ratepayers.
"Unless the standard is displayed, we urge people not to flush wipes and to instead throw them in the bin if they use them."
Powell said she's under no illusion that legislation will change with just one letter, but she hopes that it will get people questioning and considering their use of flushable wipes.
"This is really just the start."
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