Salts Healthcare of Birmingham and Fife’s McCormack Innovation have created the Salts FlushAway Wipe, an adhesive remover wipe, which completely dissolves in water within two minutes and therefore doesn’t create sewer blocks or harm the marine environment. The first of its type in the World.
People with a stoma often need to remove adhesive residue from the skin around their stoma, and many use adhesive remover wipes to do this. However, conventional wipes are made of synthetic and plastic fibres that take a number of years to biodegrade. The Salts FlushAway Wipe will give people the convenience of using a wipe knowing it won’t cause harm to the environment. (see video here: https://youtu.be/mjCKH55azO4)
The product has been awarded the ‘Fine To Flush’ marque* by Water UK, the trade organisation for water companies across the United Kingdom, who say wet wipes are the principal cause of the UK’s 300,000 annual sewer blockages after their incorrect disposal through flushing down the toilet, costing more than £100M every year to the economy.
The effect of plastic wet wipes on the environment has led to the Scottish Government and UK’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) both currently running consultations to ban wet wipes containing plastic.
The Salts FlushAway Wipe is the first product to be developed by the English and Scottish firms Salts Healthcare and McCormack Innovation, as they announce a strategic partnership to create further innovative and environmentally friendly goods to help people worldwide living with a stoma.
Iain Powner, Strategic Head of Technical at Salts Healthcare, said “This product will help to improve the lives of people living with a stoma knowing that neither they or the product is damaging the environment.
“Salts is totally committed to creating green products and reducing our effect on the globe. The FlushAway Wipes packaging can be 100% recycled. Even the foil sachet wrappers we have to use to deliver medical products have been thought of; we are offering a free foil sachet return service for patients through our Medilink® Home Delivery Service, so we can recycle them.”
Brian McCormack of McCormack Innovation said, “The term ‘fat berg’ is now in the dictionary, caused mostly by plastic based wet wipes. The Salts FlushAway Wipes are 100% soluble and so are no risk to our sewage system and won’t do any harm to the environment.
“Being able to create a wet wipe product which can be safely disposed of by flushing down the toilet is unique, not just in the healthcare market but in everyday life, and it’s something we are really proud of.”
Peter Salt, Chief Executive, “It’s been a really enjoyable journey for everyone involved and how satisfying it is to be able to create a product that has so many positives. I’d like to thank Brian and his team and Iain’s innovative technical teams at Salts for making the FlushAway Wipes a reality. This announcement is the first of many exciting product launches that will help shape the future of stoma care accessories while helping reduce waste.”
McCormack Innovation has a track-record of designing and manufacturing healthcare products that improve the lives of people. The technology was developed by McCormack in association with the University of Dundee with support from the Scottish Development International enterprise team.
Salts Healthcare has spent over 300 years dedicated to innovation. For the past 60 years it has been at the vanguard of ostomy products with the Salts Confidence BE® range one of the most innovative and bestselling brands in the UK.
This announcement is the start of an exciting range of products that will help shape the future of stoma care accessories while helping reduce waste.
For more information visit www.salts.co.uk.