Advancement in flushable wipes: Modern technologies and characterization

Atasağun, Hande Gül; Bhat, Gajanan

doi:10.1177/1528083718795910

Cited by 23 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…According to the guidelines of the nonwoven industry association of America (INDA) and Europe (EDANA) ushability is tested in a row of tests, where particularly the slosh box disintegration test is considered as suitable to determine the dispersibility of wipes (INDA and EDANA, 2018). As they are not containing any type of binders nonwovens from pure cellulosic bres seem to be the most promising material to obtain true ushability, also according to slosh box tests (Atasagun and Bhat, 2018;Phillip Mango, 2004).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

WITHDRAWN: How Flushable Wet Wipes Are Causing Sewer Blockages – and An Approach to Prevent That

2021

Preprint

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

WITHDRAWN: How Flushable Wet Wipes Are Causing Sewer Blockages – and An Approach to Prevent That

2021

Preprint

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“… 17 . As they are not containing any type of binders nonwovens from pure cellulosic fibres seem to be the most promising material to obtain true flushability, also according to slosh box tests 2 , 18 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reduced dispersibility of flushable wet wipes after wet storage

Harter

Bernt²,

Winkler³

et al. 2021

Sci Rep

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Scientific publications and newsfeeds recently focused on flushable wet wipes and their role in sewage system blockages. It is stated that although products are marked as flushable, they do not disintegrate after being disposed of via the toilet. In this work it is shown that wetlaid hydroentangled wet wipes lose their initially good dispersive properties during their storage in wet condition. As a consequence, we are suggesting to add tests after defined times of wet storage when assessing the flushability of wet wipes. Loss of dispersibility is found for both, wet wipes from industrial production and wipes produced on pilot facilities. We found it quite surprising that the wet wipes’ dispersibility is deteriorating after storage in exactly the same liquid they are dispersed in, i.e. water. This is probably why the effect of wet storage has not been investigated earlier. It is demonstrated that the deteriorating dispersibility of these wipes is linked to the used type of short cellulosic fibres — only wipes containing unbleached softwood pulp as short fibre component were preserving good dispersibility during wet storage. Possible mechanisms that might be responsible are discussed, e.g. long term fiber swelling causing a tightening of the fiber network, or surface interdiffusion.

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“…This has been complicated by the history of commercialization of these products. Many hygiene products were for a long time marketed as flushable (Atasa gun & Bhat, 2020;Finley, 1998b;Vostral, 2008). Later, producers started including "do-not-flush" symbols in packages (Naismith, 2017).…”

Section: Product Design and Flushability Regulationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“Unflushables”: Establishing a global agenda for action on everyday practices associated with sewer blockages, water quality, and plastic pollution

2020

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The disposal of unflushable products via the toilet is an enduring problem and increasing contributor to environmental and infrastructural challenges such as fatbergs, water quality and plastic pollution. Rising scientific and public interest in “throw‐away” cultures, and renewed government pressure for water and sewerage companies to act as custodians of water resources, raises questions about how and why impactful disposal practices occur and what might be done to change them. To date there has been little systematic research on unflushable products, and little is known about the routines and practices through which unflushable products find their way into wastewater systems. This paper reviews social science research including historical, sociological, and anthropological studies of cleanliness and hygiene, as well as sociotechnical approaches to the study of household practices and infrastructures to understand the challenges of unflushables. Based on this research, the paper offers a new conceptualization of the unflushables challenge. We argue that unflushables are a distributed problem, one that is not the direct consequence of either individual behavior, product design or infrastructural decline, but the outcome of myriad social, cultural and material developments in society. These include diversity in “flushing” cultures, gendered expectations in cleanliness practices; the evolution of conventions around cleanliness and hygiene; infrastructural imaginaries and expectations; and political dimensions of infrastructural development and maintenance. We demonstrate how social science research is essential in defining a new global research agenda on unflushables that further aids the design of new intervention and policy pathways. This article is categorized under: Engineering Water > Sustainable Engineering of Water Science of Water > Water Quality

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Advancement in flushable wipes: Modern technologies and characterization

Cited by 23 publications

References 18 publications

WITHDRAWN: How Flushable Wet Wipes Are Causing Sewer Blockages – and An Approach to Prevent That

WITHDRAWN: How Flushable Wet Wipes Are Causing Sewer Blockages – and An Approach to Prevent That

Reduced dispersibility of flushable wet wipes after wet storage

“Unflushables”: Establishing a global agenda for action on everyday practices associated with sewer blockages, water quality, and plastic pollution

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