DETROIT – Macomb County Public Works Commissioner Candice Miller filed a lawsuit against disposable wipe manufacturers on Wednesday.
The goal of the lawsuit is to require wipe manufacturers to forgo labeling their products as “flushable”, as the wipes can cause damage to sewer systems because they are not biodegradable.
Recommended Videos
“Particularly now, the last thing anyone needs is a major sewer back-up," Miller said. “These wipes are truly the scourge of sewer systems. They become almost like a rope, wrapping themselves around pumps and clogging up sewers, causing enormous problems.”
MORE: Coronavirus in Michigan: Here’s where we stand today
The lawsuit comes after Miller’s department removed a 19-ton “fatberg” from a Macomb County sewer in 2018 -- which was a mass of fats, oil and grease mixed with wipes and other solid items flushed down sewer pipes. Officials say another mass was removed in 2019, and both removals together cost $100,000.
“Really, this is a global issue, anywhere there are municipal sewer systems,” Miller said. “We are not trying to get the companies to stop making wipes. We want them to change the label and make it clear that these are not to be flushed.”
Filed with the U.S. District Court in Detroit, the lawsuit names nine manufacturers as defendants who together “represent the vast majority of wipes produced and sold in the U.S.," officials say.
The following manufacturers were named as defendants: Dude Products, Inc.; Nehemiah Manufacturing Company LLC; Kimberly-Clark Corporation; Proctor & Gamble Company; Nice-Pak Products, Inc.; Professional Disposables International, Inc.; Rockline Industries, Inc.; S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc.; and C.B. Fleet Company, Inc.
READ MORE: Local News