Under a new joint Australian and New Zealand standard recoganized by Standards Australia, The Hygience Co., a local manufacturer of wet wipes has certfied its wipes as flushable, according to a report in InDaily.

Made in Woodville North in South Australia, the flushable wipes are part of the company’s stable of eco-friendly wet wipes. While not all are flushable, the remainder of its CleanLIFE-branded wipes are plastic-free and designed to break down over time.

Last week, the company received a Good Design Award Winner Accolade in the Social Impact category for its wipes’ positive impact on the environment.

The business was co-founded by Phil Scardigno and Corey White who transformed a Gripset plant into a medical-grade wipes manufacturing facility and have been making wipes for nearly a year now.

Scardigno hopes the certification will set CleanLIFE’s wipes apart from non-flushable, imported competitors.

“We’re trying to work with the water authorities to make sure that the certification is something that the big companies like Sorbent and Kleenex – because they’ve got a flushable wipe – are meeting as well,” he says.

“Because what that does is it prevents cheap imports making claims that they meet Australian standards, because we’ve got to be certified to it and there’s a certification process which they’ll issue with a specific logo.”
 

The Hygiene Co’s flushable wipe breaks down are made with wood pulp, allowing them to fall apart in water but remain sturdy enough to remain intact prior to being flushed.

“The standard is a great thing that has been introduced because SA Water has shared with us that things like sanitary nappies are often found blowing up pipes and obviously wipes are in there which creates fatbergs,” Scardigno said.