The Board of Directors of the CWWA, at its meeting of March 28, 2023, adopted a Position Statement, and the accompanying Position Paper, concerning "Flushability”.
For over 10 years, CWWA has been working with wastewater partners to address the negative impacts of so-called ‘flushable’ wipes. We have taken our fight from a local effort to a North American attempt to an international level and now back again.
CWWA was instrumental in forming an international coalition, the International Water Services Flushability Group (IWSFG), and developing a scientifically-supported definition for the term flushable. This international standard, the IWSFG-PAS specification, and its logo, are supported by the wastewater associations in several countries and now the CWWA formally adopts it too. CWWA also encourages its members to recognize this standard and to promote the logo in their public communications concerning flushing. CWWA also supports the development of a formal Canadian standard through the Standards Council of Canada – hoping this could lead to enforceable regulation of such products.
CWWA will be reaching out to its members soon to request financial contributions toward a fund to assist with the costs of developing a nationally recognized standard. The Federation of Canadian Municipalities also passed a formal resolution supporting our efforts to develop a national standard and encouraging their members to support this effort. We hope that this CWWA Position Statement will assist you, our CWWA members, in getting that support from your utilities and municipal councils.
The Position Paper and Statement can be found here
A full story about the road to get there can be found here
Canadian Water and Wastewater Association