CHAPTER II

THE FOUR REASONS WHY WE MUST NOT USE WIPES

A. OVERVIEW

Wipes can be a paper, tissue or nonwoven cloth; they are subjected to light

rubbing or friction in order to remove dirt or liquid from the surface. Consumers want

wipes to absorb, retain or release dust or liquid on demand. One of the main benefits

that wipes provide is convenience. Using a wipe is quicker and easier than the

alternative of dispensing a liquid and using another cloth/paper towel to clean or

remove the liquid. Wipes were firstly used for cleaning the part of body of a baby. Yet,

during the past decade, the category has grown to include hard surface cleaning,

removal wipes, dusting and floor cleaner.

There are three categories of wipes, namely personal care wipes, household &

home cleaning wipes and industrial cleaning wipes.

1. Personal Care wipes

Personal care wipes are categorized into five types. They are baby wipes,

cleansing pads, pain relief, personal hygiene, and wipes for pet care. Baby wipes are

wet wipes used to clean the sensitive skin of infants. These wipes are saturated with

solutions anywhere from gentle cleansing ingredients to alcohol-based cleaners.

Baby wipes are typically sold in plastic tubs that keep the nonwoven cloth moist and

easy to use.

Cleansing pads are fiber sponges that have been previously soaked with water,

alcohol and other active ingredients for a specific intended use. There are different

types of cleansing pads offered by the beauty industry. Cleansing pads for beauty

industry are divided into makeup removing pads, anti-spot treatments and anti-acne

pads that usually contain salicylic acid, vitamins, menthol and other treatments.

Cleansing pads for preventing infection are usually saturated with alcohol and bundled

in steril package. Hands and instrument may be disinfected with these pads while

treating wounds. Disinfecting cleansing pads are often included in the first aid kits for

this purpose.

Pain relief wipes are kinds of wipes that can be used for treating minor scrapes,

burns, and insect bites. They also disinfect the injury and ease pain and itching. It

functions as the first aid, because they contain alcohol and benzocaine.

Personal hygiene wipes can be useful when doing outdoor activities, especially

during warmer weather. These wipes can remove dirt and sweat before they settle into

your pores. These wipes are usually pre-moistened and come either individually

packaged or in one larger container.

 Wet wipes for pet care can clean part of animals body like eyes, ear, or dental

cleansing pads. It contains boric acid, potassium chloride, zinc sulfate, sodium borate.

It can be used for dogs, cats, horses, and birds.

2. Household & home cleaning wipes

There are some kinds of wipes which are included in household and home

cleaning wipes, namely kitchen wipes, bathroom wipes, food service wipes, glass

surface cleaning wipes, and automotive wipes. Kitchen and bathroom wipes usually

have disinfectant to clean surface and also kill germs and bacteria. Food service wipes

have function to clean our mouth or hands after washing it with soap and this wipes

can usually be found in restaurant. Glass surface cleaning wipes and automotive care

wipes are used to clean fingerprints, smudges, and splatters without spraying it with

water.

3. Industrial cleaning wipes

People usually use degreasing or machinery cleaning wipes for industry. When

it comes to industrial applications, choosing the right wipe is important because it can

give difference in terms of performance, efficiency and economy. In the past, Rags and

laundered cloths were the solution for wiping dirt and oils from equipment and hands.

But now, convenient disposable wipes are recognized as the preferred alternative.

Usually, it can clean machinery and tools and absorb fluids and oil or dust removal.
B. THE FOUR REASONS WHY WE MUST NOT USE WIPES

Wipes are indeed our daily need since they can ease our activities. However, it

cannot be denied that wipes also give some bad impacts. The following are some bad

impacts of using wipes.

1. Loading up the landfills

Loading up the landfills is one of the reasons why we must not use wipes.

Dipayan Das and Behnam Pourdeyhimi (2014) stated that every year about 250000

tonnes of wipes are disposed in landfills. One can imagine the environment impact they

pose to present and future generations, even if they contain a low proportion of

synthetic fibers. In addition, Adam Page, a business manager for market research

publisher Smithers Apex, says The wipes market currently valued at $13.2bn has

been growing at 6% to 7% percent annually for much of the past decade. Smithers

Apex predicts it will continue to grow at a compound annual rate of 6.8% until at least

2019. Moreover, the wipes market value in Europe has steadily increase from 2008

until 2016.
 ,

Picture 1 : European wipes market

Source: www.inda.org/BIO/wow2013_579_PPT.pdf

Wipes business sector is really popular because wipes are very handy to have

around, and people never give attention to the environment while using them. Now, it

seems that the habits of throwing wipes trashes everywhere has become more terrible.

According to Marine Conservation Societys (MCS), the number of used wet wipes

littering the UK beaches has increased by 50% in 2014. It proves that people just use

wipes, make wipes market get successful, but they do not responsible for the

environment which will be in danger later on.

2. Clogging sewer system

Sewer system is a waste pipe that carries away sewage or surface water. Wipes

and other items also cause problems in the pipes inside the house. Clogged pipes can
lead to overflowing toilets. When this happens we need to clean out the main drain,

and also a plumber to clear the blockage. To help avoid these problems and expenses,

only flush human waste and toilet paper can be used

Many household wipes, baby and adult personal hygiene wipes are labeled and

marketed as disposable or flushable. While these products may be marketed as a

convenience item. But, the truth is that these types of items have the ability to clog and

stop up not only the sewer line on our property, but also can cause blockage and service

problems in the public sewer system and pump stations. Sometimes wipes that have

been labeled flushable wipes are still not easy to be degraded. People just throw it

after using wipes down to the toilet without thinking that it will cause several problems.

In fact, it only takes a few flushed wet wipes to cause a clog, mixed with fats or

oils call fatberg and cause blockage in public sewers.

According to The New York Times, in 2013 a utility company in London

removed a 15-ton fatberg from a sewer system. The Guardian reports that New York

City has spent $18 million on wipe-related equipment problems in the past five years,

and residents of Kent, a county in the UK, were dumping an estimated 2,000 tons of

wet wipes into sewers.

3. Killing aquatic animals

Without us knowing, we often forget the marine ecosystem. The sea has the

ability to absorb carbon (CO2) quite large. The sea can absorb CO2 up to 43.6% of the

world's carbon content. Unfortunately, the ability of the sea is lacking because the

ecosystem is being damaged.

The wipes wash up on beaches all around the world. A 2014 estimation from

the MCS says that there are approximately 35 wipes per kilometer of beach in Britain

50% increase from 2013. It is related to the case that wipes can actually kill aquatic

animals. Because the label flushable in wipes, still does not guarantee that wipe is

degradable. Because wet wipes are technically disposable, does not mean that they

can magically disintegrate. Instead, they can easily be carried away to somewhere else,

out of sight, and causing problem. Such as turtles, who mistaking that they are jellyfish

and eventually die. The same thing happens with plastic bags. Marine Conservation

society (MCS) Charlotte coombs said when marine wildlife eats that plastic, which

they quite often do, it just stays in the stomach of the animal and quite often they just

die of starvation.

Of course not just wet wipes but all things that made of plastic can be in the sea

and cause dangerous effect to aquatic animal. Therefore, although wipes are getting

popular, the use of them should be reduced in order to save the aquatic animal.
4. Being difficult to be degraded

Wipes are important things in our daily need. Because it is important, it is better

if wipes contain substance which is safe for our body and for our environment.

According to the growing news, wipes cannot be easily to degrade even it is not wet

wipes. Degradation is a process of deterioration or breaking-up by the action of natural

forces (air, light, water) or by the addition of certain chemicals.

Picture 2: Experiment flushable wipes

Source: https://twitter.com/Tas_Water/status/871515223609327616/photo/1

Water and sewerage service in Tasmania mentioned this photo in their

Twitter. They did the experiment with baby wipes and still unchanged after 18

months. "Flushable" wipes are still in the same shape. Pipe blockages are not the

only reason that wet wipes are problematic though. According to The

Telegraph, many wet wipe brands contain plastic and also means that they never
quite break down entirely: over time, they turn into micro plastic, which can pose

a big threat to marine life if they end up in the water.

Now the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) has launched a campaign to

persuade retailers and manufacturers to clearly label their wet wipe products with a

"don't flush" message on their package so they will throw the trash in the bin instead

of the toilet. Dr. Laura Foster the MCS head of pollution, said: "Our sewer systems are

not built to cope with wet wipes. When they are flushed, they do not disintegrate like

toilet paper, and they typically contain plastic. So, once they reach the sea, they last for

a very long time.