Are flushable wipes actually flushable?

Nope. Is EVERYTHING a lie in 2020?

Aug 19, 2020

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

August’s Topic: Water Pollution

This week's module: 1. READ | 2. LISTEN | 3. ACT | 4. REFLECT

Hi everyone! Nivi here (as always, but in case you forgot my name I’m saying it again). This month has been highs and lows. One of the lows is finding out that in the United States, there are probably places with 15% poopy drinking water!!! (Sort of a joke, but maybe not.)

A high: I just got to spend 5 days of quality time with my grandma. The weather in San Francisco has been wonderful. We took walks, drove along the coast, and marveled at architecture. How’s your week?

As you ponder if you want to reply or not (please reply! We love reader mail and feature it on our Instagram!), let me tell you about today’s Changeletter:

Find out about your local water quality
Learn what you really shouldn’t be flushing
Uncover a major sustainability challenge hiding in plain sight: storm drains

This is one of our most individual action-focused newsletters, because honestly, I need a break from trying to go up against corporations. Let’s do our part in August for National Water Quality Month. #NoPoopyWater

All these actions are super easy (like… don’t flush your tampons if you use them) and give us and our animal friends more clean water to drink. Remember, we have such a limited supply, so this is crucial.

Say it with me: No! Poopy! Water!

Huge shoutout to our readers Soli and Zöe for this week’s content. You’ll learn more about Zöe’s blog below.

Drain, drain, go away

Before I share 4 actions you can take to minimize water pollution, I want to introduce Zöe Pettit, one of our most supportive readers. I love collaborating with her because we share a “do your best” approach to sustainability, welcoming you wherever you are on your climate journey. Here’s more about her blog, Cut the Crap! We got our actions 2 and 3 directly from her site.

My aim for this site is to allow every single person to come here when they feel even the slightest bit activated and have a variety of options of ways to take action in your home, in your community, or world-wide even! It is so easy to feel overwhelmed and scared with everything happening in the climate movement, but it is seen time and time again if you can channel how you feel and push past it will allow you to be the very best activist you can be. - Zöe Pettit, Cut the Crap

So, here goes.

DO NOT FLUSH STUFF THAT’S NOT TOILET PAPER! Sorry for yelling, but I need my inner self to hear, because I am guilty of flushing so many non-flushable items down the toilet out of ignorance. On this list: flushable wipes! floss! hair! And yes, flushable wipes should not be flushed.
Flushable wipes cause the biggest trouble for toilets and septic systems since so many people use them and think that they are “flushable.” As a result, there have been public awareness campaigns, lawsuits, and countless stories of the problems they cause for sewage treatment centers. Brands are now being forced to remove the “flushable” and “disposable” labels and warn consumers not to flush them. - Hiller
If you can’t handle a child, adopt a drain instead! Storm drains flow directly to local lakes, rivers, and wetlands, acting as a conduit for trash and organic pollutants. Adopt-a-Drain asks residents to adopt a storm drain in their neighborhood and keep it clear of leaves, trash, and other debris to reduce water pollution. Sign up here - it’s an activity you can do with friends and family for some COVID outdoor productivity before it gets too cold. #NoPoopyWater
Watch where you blow. For those of you lucky enough to have a yard, when mowing it, do not blow clippings into the street or onto paved surfaces. Just 5 bags worth of leaves have enough phosphorus in them to create 1,000 lbs of algae growth in lakes and creeks (which is terrible for our water-dwelling friends).
Understand your local water quality. Okay, so I’m still working on this, but you can pull up your Consumer Confidence Report (CCR) to understand your local water quality. Pulling up the information was easy for San Francisco… but I’m still trying to figure out how serious these contaminants are. (I searched “poop” but it was not found.) I welcome any help in interpreting the report!

That’s it for today. I’m going to need some time to get over this whole flushable wipes scam.

Upcoming

Next week is our REFLECT module and the last Changeletter for August. Shall we all repent about the many things we’ve flushed?
We just sent our first FREE racial justice summary for our new newsletter, Action Abridged. Did you know that there’s actually a year that humans invented race? Spoiler: it’s 1444. Also, Thomas Jefferson was an Anglo-Saxonist. Learn about what that means and how it would have changed America’s core.
Reply if you have any questions or just want to say hi!