Spain aims to ban flushing of wet wipes, with manufacturers paying for cleanup
Spain aims to ban flushing of wet wipes, with manufacturers paying for cleanup
It blows my mind that I still see ads for "flushable" wipes
Oh. Shoot. I’ve bought those in the past. So they’re lying about being flushable, I suppose.
Like "recyclable" plastic.
One of the biggest bits of propaganda of all time.
Well it is recyclable, it's just so expensive most don't bother.
Wanna see something really gross...what is a fatberg
I don't ever remember seeing them here in Sweden. I can't even remember seeing an ad for wipes at all. The only common "wipes" here are for babies, and even that isn't something everyone uses.
Edible wipes are the future! Invest now!
Flushable just means it will fit in the pipe. It doesn't mean it should be there.
Cottonelle claims that theirs break down and for a while they would fall apart when using them, so it could be true. Anything that just says flushable, though, is meaningless.
I saw one that claimed "plumber approved" and it made me so mad we don't have meaningful laws against deceptive advertising.
I'd like really sewer-safe wet wipes. If tried several bidets and did not like them, definitely worse than wipes IMO.
Yep. Make it the manufacturers' problem. They only care when it hits their wallet. Even if they pass on the costs, it'll make the wipes that actually dissolve properly cheaper and these are exempt.
How do you make a wet wipe dissolve when its wet without dissolving when its wet
We can do this with wet wipes, but carbon is a bridge too far?
Easily the weirdest demonstration of the. 'polluter pays' principle
I'd imagine fossil fuel has a bigger lobby than wet wipe companies lmao
Didn't let Big Wet Wipe hear this! They will be furious! (But very fresh)
I doubt that cars and car infrastructure would be allowed today if we weren't already knee-deep in the shit they cause.
It's probably the worst invention ever.
bleach wouldn't be allowed today either
Nobody has ever explained externalities to them clearly. Instead they just yell at them and call them fascists. So it's understandable why many of them don't get that they're paying for the damage the company places in public spheres.
A bidet is way cheaper and way better for everyone.
I've always wondered this, but how do you prevent a bidet from festering? When dedicating, micro poop particles get everywhere in the bowl, and therefore my conclusion would be that it would get on the bidet spout. Over time, since it's moist, wouldn't a very thin microbial biofilm form on the spout? Then you'd be blasting in potentially dangerous bacteria back into yourself. Do you have to clean it after every use? Every day?
The only way I could see it maybe keeping clean would be if it was behind a small door that opened when it'll be in use and then retracted once more.
So far the most hygienic option would be wet wipes.
Yes, they have little doors and always retract back up after use. They also do an automatic bleed before and after each use to wash them off. There is also a manual bleed and clean option so the wand can be cleaned by hand (though they stay remarkably clean. The wonders of Japanese engineering).
Also one other thing that's never been answered for me: where is the soap dispenser located? Are people seriously just washing their ass with nothing but water and calling it clean? What's next? Washing your hands without soap?
Honestly I rather just use the shower head to rinse off after a shit, cause the body wash is already right there. Plus I can adjust the temperature so I'm not blasting freezing cold water directly onto my asshole.
Don’t you clean your toilet? That takes care of it.
Your "the only way" argument is literally how they are all sold. Maybe do even the lightest bit of research before declaring you have no option but to continue doing the worst thing possible?
"We've done nothing and we're all out of ideas!"
Edit: Reading this back I was kind of mean. Obviously you're entitled to your own preferences, but bidets have solved most of those problems already and are definitely worth checking out.
Depends where you are-
In many states of Australia installing a Bidet is extremely expensive as they they need to have a full RPZ backflow protection device (bulky and expensive - $600+ for the part) to prevent backflow. (simple and even double check valves aren't allowed for Bidets as they're considered 'high hazard')
Wow that is so complicated to install a simple hose. https://amzn.eu/d/2AN2BDt
They should mandate bidets in all residential bathrooms like Italy imo
Nice move Spain. Seriously. Anyone still cut the 6 pack plastic carrier to save turtles ? Anyone still confused why they still allow manufacturer to still use that plastic contraption?
That is because they don't care.
In Spain cardboard is used
I've seen cardboard in America too! Sometimes you'll also see reusable clip-on plastic tops that some smaller stores will actually let you return so they can re-use them, or send them back on their next shipment, although that's much less common.
Here the whole 6pack is either wrapped in a thin plastic foil or it's cardboard.
I haven't seen can six packs in the wild in Germany for ages, the few cans that are for sale come in trays of 24. Results do show pictures of "wrap everything in plastic" (Coca-Cola) as well as cardboard solutions like the Spanish one, the first hit that's a commercial supply looks just like carton six-pack packaging for bottles.
Thing is cans are kind of iffy in Germany because of the 25ct deposit, it's not so much the deposit that's the issue (the same goes for very popular PET bottles) but that cans crinkle and once they do they might be right-out impossible to scan and get your money back. Also PET is fine for about everything but beer, and for beer there's glass bottles. If you ever see beer in PET in Germany give it a wide berth it tastes as good as its price-point indicates. You're better off with wine or sangria in a tetra pack.
Yes, but it's actually not that great for the enviornment since in Spain normally the plastic foil and aluminium layer is not separated for recycling. The only part that gets recycled is the external cardboard layer.
it’s absolutely wild that the US still allows this… it’s 1 of the first things my friends all comment on when travelling there (australia)
if manufacturers were fined for their garbage, there would be much less garbage.
Not sure about that. They would probably start paying for cleaning offsets or something and claim that it's the same as actually cleaning up their trash, so they don't need to do anything.
Fuck wet wipes
Just don't flush them after
I keep a pack of wet wipes with me every time I travel. I never use them in the toilet, though. Just for cleaning my hands when eating street food.
at least they have a backup plan of getting those companies to pay for the cleanup. That might be just slightly less impossible to make happen than people stop flushing them.
They can make what looks like plastic carrier bags that dissolve in water now so the manufacturers could I suspect make dissolvable wipes but will probably only do it when forced by law.
I'm aware there are maybe one or two brands that already do this (or claim to at least) but they all need to be doing it.
We have flushable dog poo bags and they're awesome. We've tested them and they dissolve after less than an hour in the toilet (maybe much sooner, but I got distracted and didn't time it).
Dog poop for the fire gods
The thing is that those aren't wet to begin with, like a wet wipe.
They already exist though look into a brand like cottonelle.
Spain is on a roll!
The hospital I work at had installed some kind of wipe catcher in most of the publicly accessable toilets. All you can see is a metal ring at the opening at the bottom of the toilet with a sign warning not to put your hand in there or you WILL get shredded. Apparently it has sharp bits that will snag wipes if you attempt to flush them.
We need to install waffle grates in all toilets and just have a foot press that lets you push your poop in
that doesnt sound pleasant, and poop might get caked up in the grate.
At last. I have been waiting for this for years. I can finally wipe again
Fuck these fucking things! Why do people tend to choose the most insane option when they are given a choice!?
Ghetto-Takeaway-Bidet
Punch a tiny hole in the neck of an empty 0,33ml PET plastic bottle. You can use a drill, a needle or a corkscrew. Fill it with water and squeeze it to spray your ass, vulva, whatever clean.
we need to return to wiping our asses with leaves
cool would be develop a plant whose only purpose is be there, in your bathroom, growing smooth ass leaves to wipe your ass.
Actually, there are! (Though it's classified as invasive in many places, so they really have to be carefully kept.)
In the western US and Canada, thimbleberry leaves can also be used.
They are both great in theory, but in practice, you defoliate the plants too quickly, and you are still putting extra material down pipes. The best, least damaging solution are bidets, since they just use water, and don't require trees or plants to be cut down and pulped.
Toilet police serve and protect!
I read the title and had to go to the article because my brain read pipes instead of wipes. I was trying to figure out how/why they were trying to transition to having dry pipes for water lines.
What's up with Europes fragile plumbing? Does the US have this problem but it's never reported or what?
Wipes clog up American plumbing also. They make giant fatbergs that workers have to go in and tear apart to unblock the sewers.
Spent $4000 on a plumbing repair because the previous owner flushed a bunch of wipes. The plumbers removed about 15 pounds of shitty wipes and then replaced the pipe.
Oh, we definitely do. People commit huge crimes like flushing huge amounts of clothing down the line, which totally fucks up the pumps that move sewage up hills and over into bigger infrastructure. Many places used to have incinerators in the lines, but some people freak out that it's bad for the environment (as if putting biosolid shit into landfills isn't worse, which generates tons of methane). At least the incinerators used to burn up foreign objects and could run off the grease in shit and greywater alone.
Mostly a Spain thing. They don't even want you flushing toilet paper in Tenerife.
Unfortunately nobody told me that until the last day of the holiday...
Not sure about the majority of Europe but as far as I'm aware you can still find lead or ceramic pipes in parts of the UK. Some plumbing is still Victorian as well I think, thanks to a lack of investment from the water companies.
I guess they'll post a policeman in every toilet
Uhhh, you know those things are from the store, right?