After Fine to Flush, what happens next?

The beginning of March 2024 saw the end of the Fine to Flush (F2F) certification scheme, which had been operated by Water UK since 2019, with WRc providing the testing resource. The scheme was the first certification scheme in the world, but has been viewed by many in the press as being a failure. But was it really?

Let's go back to the beginning and its origins.

The voluntary certification scheme was established by the UK water industry to tackle the growing issue of moist toilet tissue wipes that were labelled as "Flushable", but, as evidence showed at that time, they were clearly not. Despite many years of customer information campaigns, such as “Bin the Wipe”, these products were used for toileting and consequently they were still being flushed.

Advice from the government to the water industry at the time was that no legislation would be considered regarding the incorrect use of the term “flushable” until all steps had been taken to address the issue by working with the retailers and the wipes industry. This led to moves to create a “flushability standard” for this particular type of product and the eventual creation of the Fine to Flush specification, or to give it its technical name Water Industry Specification (WIS) 4-02-06.

The Fine to Flush certification scheme, using the WIS testing methodology, started in January 2019. It was initially seen as being unlikely to succeed in changing product composition to non-plastic and with flushable alternatives, as the large multi nationals and retailers had long-established product lines. However, television programmes, such as Blue Planet, raised public awareness of the impact of single-use plastics and microplastics on the environment. This change in the public’s perception of microplastics prompted the manufacturers and retailers to demonstrate more green credentials, and they quickly moved to create F2F-certified, plastic-free moist toilet tissue products. This saw a sudden increase in the number of products certified. By April 2023 over 150 products were ‘Fine to Flush’ certified, with nearly all retailers in the UK selling only Fine to Flush certified plastic-free products. This represented a huge change in the small but important wipes industry, moving a product range from unflushable plastic to a situation where 99% of these products were plastic-free and tested to a recognised flushability standard. That seems like success to me.

So why end what appears to be such a successful scheme, and where does this leave the flushable product sector?

Well, the reason for Water UK ending the F2F certification scheme was based primarily on messaging. This was reinforced by the view from the then Secretary of State, Therese Coffey, which stated that the term flushable (and by default the Fine to Flush scheme) confused customers and reduced the impact of any national “Bin the Wipe” campaign, and the commonly used 3Ps (pee, poo and paper only down the loo) messaging.

WRc can see the reasoning behind this, but, as evidence gathered in the UK and from across the globe indicates, flushable products are not the real problem for sewer networks. The evidence clearly shows that plastic wipes that don’t disintegrate are the primary cause of blockages and pump clogs. They appear at our treatment works in such large numbers, and when they escape into the environment they remain there for many, many years. The wet wipe island in the Thames is an example of this.

Hence, WRc fully supports the proposed ban on wet wipe containing plastic fibres, as this will partly tackle the problem of single-use plastic wipes entering the sewer network and the environment. It must be added it won’t solve the whole problem though, as products such as baby wipes and cleaning wipes made from non-plastic materials may not disintegrate to a level that is harmless to our sewers as they are designed to be robust.

So, what about flushability testing?

Because these tough, non-plastic products will remain on our supermarket shelves, with many still labelled as flushable, there remains a need for reputable retailers and manufacturers to demonstrate that their products won’t impact the sewer network and that they meet a relevant flushability standard.

Hence, WRc is working with retailers and manufacturers to recommence flushability testing of plastic-free moist toilet tissues.

This flushability testing is in accordance with the globally recognised testing standard that is expected to be incorporated into a draft ISO flushability standard in 2025. Manufacturers and retailers can continue to sell products used for intimate personal care as flushable, knowing that they have been independently tested and compliant to a robust and internationally recognised flushability standard.