Welcome news on Australian Flushable Products Standard

Welcome news on Australian Flushable Products Standard

TasWater welcomes today’s announcement from Standards Australia of the release of DR AS/NZS 5328 Flushable Products. The new standard outlines the criteria for materials which are suitable for flushing down the toilet in Australia and New Zealand.
TasWater’s Service Delivery General Manager David Hughes-Owen said the new standard would help reduce the volume of unsuitable items requiring removal from the state’s sewerage network.
“We cannot overstate how important the implementation of this standard is to our service delivery operations and to the future health of our sewerage infrastructure,” Mr Hughes-Owen said.
“Although participation in the standard is voluntary, what is encouraging is that it was developed through committed collaboration between manufacturers, water utilities and peak bodies,” he said.
“It’s clear there is an appetite for improved outcomes in this area.
“Items such as wet wipes – including wipes currently marketed as ‘flushable’ – and paper towel cause build-up and blockages in our systems when flushed.
“Flushing these items also risks blocking both the household pipes as well as TasWater’s sewerage system and they remain a problem right up until we have to sift them out when they reach the sewage treatment plant.”
Water Services Association of Australia (WSAA) Executive Director Adam Lovell said the new Australian and New Zealand standard gave clarity to both manufacturers and customers.
“Clear specifications for manufacturers and clearer labelling for customers will help reduce what has become a major concern for the urban water industry with increasing pipe blockages and extra costs for water utilities and customers due to inappropriate material being flushed down the toilet,” Mr Lovell said.
“We congratulate the urban water industry, manufacturers, suppliers and consumer interest groups for their commitment and contributions to developing this important standard, which is already receiving attention with other countries expressing interest in adopting it,” he said.
“The message from the water industry has always been ‘only flush the 3P’s’. That doesn’t change, but now we can add ‘check for the flushable symbol’. If there is no flushable symbol on the packet then don’t flush it, put it in the bin.”