Senior Media and Public Relations Advisor, Peter Hadfield, accepts two of the awards.
Share

Sydney Water has been presented with another three awards for its ‘keep wipes out of pipes’ campaign.

Sydney Water was presented with two trophies at the national Mumbrella CommsCon Awards for the Best Government Sponsored PR Campaign of the Year and the Best Corporate Social Responsibility PR Campaign of the Year.

The ‘keep wipes out of pipes’ program was also recognised earlier in 2017 by the Australian Water Association (AWA) for the ‘NSW Program Innovation Award’ putting it in contention for the National AWA Program Innovation Award to be presented at OzWater 17 in May 2017.

Sydney Water’s trifecta of awards follows international recognition for its ‘keep wipes out of the pipes’ campaign by being awarded the Corporate Social Responsibility PR Campaign of the Year at the Asia-Pacific Communications Summit in Singapore in October 2016.

Senior Media and PR Advisor at Sydney Water, 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 over 300 wastewater utilities and non-government organisations from 23 countries now supporting the movement to keep these products out of pipes.”

Mr Hadfield said Sydney Water’s message has been consistent, asking the public to put wipes in the bin and not to flush them.

“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,” Mr Hadfield said.

“There has been consumer confusion as 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.

“In December the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission instituted proceedings in the Federal Court against two major wipes’ manufacturers, alleging that they each made false or misleading representation in relation to ‘flushable’ wipes they marketed and supplied in Australia

“The awards are a wonderful recognition of the hard work done by Sydney Water staff to bring this issue to wide public attention and to advocate for change in the packaging claims about these products.”

Lauren brings a fresh approach to content. While she’s previously written for publications as diverse as Australian Geographic, The Border Watch and Girlfriend, she’s found her true passion in her current role as an editor in the world of energy and infrastructure trade magazines.

©2024 Utility Magazine. All rights reserved

CONTACT US

We're not around right now. But you can send us an email and we'll get back to you, asap.

Sending

Log in with your credentials

Forgot your details?