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Michigan’s Macomb County spent $50,000 in

2018 removing a “fatberg” of debris, oils and

grease that was 100 feet long and 11 feet wide,

said Candice Miller, public works commissioner.

The suburban Detroit community also spent

millions to install screens that snag thousands of

pounds of wipes weekly.

Municipal officials say the solution’s simple:

Put nothing in toilets but human waste and

toilet paper.

“Don’t be fooled by wipes packaging claims that

these products are flushable,” DC Water said in a

March advisory. “They are not.”

The Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics

Industry, which represents hundreds of

companies including major wipes producers,

agrees most wet wipes are unsuitable for toilet

disposal and says they’re labeled as such.

But one type is designed to perform the

same functions as toilet paper and merits the

“flushable” label, said Dave Rousse, president of

the industry group.

These cellulose wipes begin breaking down

immediately and dissolve within hours,

Rouse said.

“These wipes are incapable of causing the kinds

of problems that wastewater operators are

accusing them of,” he said.

Critics contend “flushable” wipes don’t

biodegrade as manufacturers claim.

In Macomb County outside Detroit,

maintenance workers are removing two

tons of wipes per week from one pump

station, and officials say some clearly are the

“flushable” variety.

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