MAIN FEATURE
Lessons learned
A certification scheme allows businesses whose products qualify for certification to demonstrate that their product is compliant with an industry standard. Once an accredited certification body has assessed and approved an organisation, it will issue them with a certificate, and a seal or mark relevant to that scheme that can then be added to the organisation’s product or offering.
The Fine to Flush logo provided consumers with clear labelling about the products that they can flush, as against those that remain on the market that are still non-flushable. Previously, the retail landscape was confusing, with many products claiming to be flushable when they were not.
The F2F standard gave consumers the information they needed – in an easy-to-recognise logo – to make a quick yet informed decision about which product to buy.
Impact and outlook
The success of the F2F scheme reflects the positive collaboration of manufacturers, retailers, research and certification bodies, campaigners, and the government in their joint aim to reduce plastic pollution, help water companies lower the rate and severity of sewer blockages, and cut the real and environmental cost of cleaning up after major pollution events.
The reduction of wet wipes in sewers due to Fine to Flush has reduced the misuse of combined sewer overflows (CSOs). These specialist valves are designed to release diluted sewage from sewerage works after heavy rainfall events. Prior to F2F, the diluted sewage also contained huge quantities of wet wipes which were discharged directly into the natural environment.
Fine to Flush has successfully catapulted wet wipe plastic composition and their misuse into the national news and consumer psyche, appearing in a range of publications and news outlets fromGood Housekeeping to the Daily Mail and the Reading Chronicle to the BBC.
On 29 August 2023, Water UK notified WRc of their decision to withdraw the Fine to Flush certification mark and end the
12 | December 2023 |
www.draintraderltd.com
certification programme on 29 February 2024. The move is a result of the Government’s decision to shift the general public’s choice of wet wipe disposal to a ‘bin it’ behaviour for all types of wipes.
WRc supports all campaigns that aim to reduce plastic pollution and increase awareness of the damage that wet wipes and fatbergs cause in our water networks and wider environment. We believe our Fine to Flush scheme created a wave of public awareness about the detrimental aspects of wet wipes and helped forge a positive behavioural change concerning their disposal.
The company will continue to carry out flushability testing to allow wipe retailers and manufacturers’ customers to demonstrate that their products - although no longer labelled as ‘flushable’ - will disintegrate in the sewer or the environment and not cause a blockage if flushed. Critically, we also believe it is essential to continue providing this service for moist toilet tissue users who may feel a stigma associated with binning a wipe or who are unable to do so in a safe and secure way.
WRc’s design test capability continues apace, with manufacturers testing their products – not just wet wipes, but also alternative cosmetic and personal products – for bio- disintegration and biodegradability. Our manufacturing clients recognise the importance of this service in the development of products that are affiliated with the circular economy, ultimately resulting in less waste to landfill.
NEXT MONTHS MAIN FEATURE:
Contact Ian Clarke to get involved
ian@nodigmedia.co.uk
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72
