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New Law Requires “Do Not Flush” Labels on Non-flushable Wipes

By Jessica Gauger, Director of Legislative Advocacy and Public Affairs, California Association of Sanitation Agencies (CASA)
 

Better product labeling is on the horizon, thanks to a new law that requires manufacturers of disposable wet wipes to include on-package warning labels urging that consumers “Do Not Flush” these products.  For nearly two decades sewer systems across the country and worldwide have struggled to keep up with the onslaught of “disposable” wipes being flushed into public infrastructure.  The proliferation and popularity of the products, in addition to inconsistent and contradictory labeling practices, has led to significant hard and soft costs to manage debris and other damage caused to publicly owned collection and treatment systems. 

The effort to get wipes properly labeled has been ongoing for many years. A large number of public agencies have been involved in this initiative, and the wastewater sector even helped develop a voluntary industry standard for labeling wipes that has been in place for a number of years.  However, because the approach was voluntary, it had inconsistent adherence from various wipes manufacturers and many products included no disposal information on their packaging at all.  Despite significant public outreach efforts by sanitation agencies and media coverage of the problem, it simply wasn’t sufficiently effective at keeping these products from being flushed. 

AB 818 (Bloom), a bill passed in the 2021 Legislative Session, was signed by Governor Newsom in early October.  The new law requires manufacturers of nearly all wipes products, including diaper wipes, cleaning wipes, and cosmetic wipes, to display the words “Do Not Flush” and the universal “do not flush” symbol on all product labels by July 1, 2022.  The requirements are enforceable by the Attorney General, District Attorneys, City Attorneys, or County Counsels and violations are subject to $2,500 per-day penalties with a maximum penalty of $100,000 per occurrence of a non-compliant package.  It also requires the manufacturers of wet wipes to conduct education and outreach campaigns about what the “Do Not Flush” labeling means, as well as to explain the adverse impacts of improperly flushing non-flushable products.  The campaign efficacy will be measured through annual consumer awareness surveys, a wastewater collection study, and annual reports to the Legislature on these activities for five years. 

And now, a bipartisan effort is underway to adopt wipes labeling requirements at the Federal level. H.R. 4602 by Representatives Alan Lowenthal and Lisa McClain would replicate the California non-flushable wipes labeling standard nationwide. 

More work remains to be done, especially as it pertains to products marketed as “flushable,” but some of which do not actually disperse like toilet paper.  However, AB 818 marks significant incremental progress on this issue. Special districts are encouraged to take advantage of the education and outreach materials that will be made available as the implementation phase begins.

For those interested in outreach materials, please contact California Association of Sanitation Agencies (CASA) Communications Analyst, Alyssa Downs at Adowns@casaweb.org. CASA will be distributing the material as it becomes available throughout the education campaign cycle.

This article was written by Jessica Gauger, Director of Legislative Advocacy and Public Affairs, California Association of Sanitation Agencies (CASA), as part of CSDA’s New Laws Series, where experts explain legislation passed in 2021 and how it will impact special districts moving forward. This article is provided for general information only and is not offered or intended as legal advice. Readers should seek the advice of an attorney when confronted with legal issues, and attorneys should perform an independent evaluation of the issues raised in these materials.

Stay tuned to the New Laws Series in CSDA eNews for more in-depth analyses on new laws affecting special districts.

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