An Australian water utility has received international recognition after being awarded the Corporate Social Responsibility Campaign of the Year at the Asia-Pacific Communications Summit in Singapore.
Sydney Water Senior Media and PR Advisor Peter Hadfield at the Asia-Pacific Communications Summit in Singapore
Sydney Water received the award for its ‘keep wipes out of the pipes’ education program.
Sydney Water Senior Media and PR Advisor, Peter Hadfield, said, “Our ‘keep wipes out of pipes’ education program has created significant awareness of the problems caused to our wastewater network by flushing wet wipes.
“More importantly our customers, who are often hit with expensive plumbing bills to have wipes removed from the sewer pipes in their homes, are now aware of the problems of flushing wipes.
“Since we started the program, our customer sentiment surveys have shown a 50 per cent reduction in people who think it’s okay to flush wipes.
“The campaign has also taken off internationally, with 204 wastewater utilities and 41 non-government organisations from 17 countries supporting the movement to keep these products out of pipes.”
Sydney Water Manager Media and External Communications, Keiran Smith, said, “We have been consistent with our message to the public about putting wipes in the bin and not flushing them and it’s great to see that Sydney Water’s customers and the customers of utilities right around Australia and around the world are taking notice.
“There has been consumer confusion in that many wet wipes are branded ‘flushable’, but our tests and independent tests undertaken by CHOICE and an accredited lab have demonstrated that even flushable branded wipes are not flushable at all.
“The award is a wonderful recognition of the hard work done by Sydney Water staff to bring what was a little-known issue to wide public attention and advocate for change in the packaging claims about these products.”
