By Roni Gehlke, Ironhouse Sanitary District

Five small wastewater agencies in suburban Contra Costa County have joined forces in a “No Wipes in the Pipes” public education campaign to help eliminate the practice of flushing wet wipes down the toilet.

While consumers are enticed by the convenience and hygiene benefits of so-called flushable wipes, wastewater agencies have been inundated with the problems these products create, not the least of which is clogged sewer pipes and pump systems. Despite their name, flushable wipes do not decompose in the sewer system quickly enough to avoid clogging sewer pipes, and if not monitored carefully can cause environmental hazards costing wastewater agencies and their customers hundreds of thousands of dollars annually in cleanup bills and fines.

Partners with a common goal

By 2020, the flushable wipes market is expected to account for $2.4 billion in sales, roughly three times the $796 million generated nearly a decade ago. Wastewater agencies across the country have campaigned, with varying degrees of success, to eliminate use of the word “flushable” on wipes containers. It was evident to the partners that calling upon manufacturers to change their packaging labels wasn’t going to work. The Key, the group decided, was to take the message directly to consumers about the damage these products do to household plumbing systems as well as public sewers and the environment.

The partnership formed when Angela Lowrey, public information manager at Delta Diablo in Antioch, contacted four neighboring special districts representing roughly 300,000 wastewater customers. Joining Delta Diablo were Ironhouse Sanitary District in Oakley, the Town of Discovery Bay, Byron-Bethany Irrigation District, and the City of Brentwood.

The group developed a cooperative marketing and outreach campaign spanning three months that took advantage of paid and free advertising via newspapers, highway billboards, and even movie theaters. The campaign included news releases featuring quotes from leaders of the participating agencies. Large banner ads were placed on the tails of several buses whose routes serve eastern Contra Costa communities.

Advantages to co-op advertising

By pooling their advertising resources, each of the five partner agencies benefits from a message with a much broader impact. Campaign costs were divided based on each agency’s size; Byron-Bethany Irrigation District, the smallest of the group, serves about 3,000 connections, while Delta Diablo comprises more than 67,000 connections.

Further cost savings were achieved by employing the talents of partnership committee members rather than hiring outside advertising consultants and graphic designers. Partners contributing resources to those efforts were compensated through a discounted share of the campaign costs.

“While participating in a cooperative outreach effort such as the ‘No Wipes in the Pipes’ campaign offers small special districts an affordable way to amplify an important message, it also helps build their credibility,” said Chad Davisson, general manager of Ironhouse Sanitary District.

When it comes down to it, small wastewater agencies are competing against the powerful voices of multi-billion-dollar corporations telling consumers that these wipes are “flushable.” It is no small task asking customers to ignore the corporate rhetoric and to embrace environmental stewardship.

“Small to medium size special districts often lack funds for in-house public information officers, education campaigns or advertising staff,” Davisson said. “Joining a cooperative campaign allows for the greatest exposure with the smallest investment, with access to more advertising outlets which increases the size of the targeted market.”

Smaller agencies in a partnership will also benefit from the larger agencies’ marketing strength and economies of scale, which improves public visibility, lowers costs, and creates more brand awareness.

Dividing the campaign costs among the five partner agencies allowed not only greater visibility for their message, but also access to advertising vehicles that might otherwise be cost prohibitive, including video and outdoor billboards.

For instance, eastern Contra Costa County is home to a large number of commuters served by one main freeway connecting to Bay Area employment centers. The partnership was able to purchase space on prominent digital billboards along this heavily trafficked corridor – something that would have been out of the budget for any of them individually. There was also an opportunity to advertise on movie screens at three of the region’s major theaters.

“There have been many great advantages to working with my regional partners on the ‘No Wipes in the Pipes’ campaign,” said Mike Davies from the Town of Discovery Bay. “Doing this alone would have been expensive and onerous. By joining together, we are able to use the power of our combined purse to engage in a variety of communication methodologies and extend our messaging outreach to a greater audience. As a result, it not only made working together fun, it made it effective.”

Pooling resources goes beyond financial needs. Each partner committee representative brings a unique set of skills that all members can learn from. Brainstorming sessions for the “No Wipes in the Pipes” campaign frequently drew on experiences from earlier outreach efforts, as well as from professional contacts made along the way.

One of those connections was with a sanitary district in Casper, Wyoming, where a similar outreach effort had resulted in creation of the “No Wipes in the Pipes” logo that the Contra Costa partnership ultimately adopted for its own campaign. The Wyoming district was happy to share its logo for an important cause and thrilled to see its use spread far outside its state of origin.

While results of the Contra Costa campaign are still being assessed, members of the partnership have already offered anecdotal evidence that the message was well received, with their customers having seen the no-wipes ads on buses and billboards or mentioning habit changes resulting from the campaign.

Ultimately repetition is necessary to cement the message with the public, but partnership members are making strides already by continuing to use elements of the campaign in their individual efforts to educate customers about the hazards of disposable wipes.

Advantages to co-op advertising

By pooling their advertising resources, each of the five partner agencies benefits from a message with a much broader impact. Campaign costs were divided based on each agency’s size; Byron-Bethany Irrigation District, the smallest of the group, serves about 3,000 connections, while Delta Diablo comprises more than 67,000 connections.

Further cost savings were achieved by employing the talents of partnership committee members rather than hiring outside advertising consultants and graphic designers. Partners contributing resources to those efforts were compensated through a discounted share of the campaign costs.

“While participating in a cooperative outreach effort such as the ‘No Wipes in the Pipes’ campaign offers small special districts an affordable way to amplify an important message, it also helps build their credibility,” said Chad Davisson, general manager of Ironhouse Sanitary District.

When it comes down to it, small wastewater agencies are competing against the powerful voices of multi-billion-dollar corporations telling consumers that these wipes are “flushable.” It is no small task asking customers to ignore the corporate rhetoric and to embrace environmental stewardship.

“Small to medium size special districts often lack funds for in-house public information officers, education campaigns or advertising staff,” Davisson said. “Joining a cooperative campaign allows for the greatest exposure with the smallest investment, with access to more advertising outlets which increases the size of the targeted market.”

Smaller agencies in a partnership will also benefit from the larger agencies’ marketing strength and economies of scale, which improves public visibility, lowers costs, and creates more brand awareness.

Dividing the campaign costs among the five partner agencies allowed not only greater visibility for their message, but also access to advertising vehicles that might otherwise be cost prohibitive, including video and outdoor billboards.

For instance, eastern Contra Costa County is home to a large number of commuters served by one main freeway connecting to Bay Area employment centers. The partnership was able to purchase space on prominent digital billboards along this heavily trafficked corridor – something that would have been out of the budget for any of them individually. There was also an opportunity to advertise on movie screens at three of the region’s major theaters.

“There have been many great advantages to working with my regional partners on the ‘No Wipes in the Pipes’ campaign,” said Mike Davies from the Town of Discovery Bay. “Doing this alone would have been expensive and onerous. By joining together, we are able to use the power of our combined purse to engage in a variety of communication methodologies and extend our messaging outreach to a greater audience. As a result, it not only made working together fun, it made it effective.”

Pooling resources goes beyond financial needs. Each partner committee representative brings a unique set of skills that all members can learn from. Brainstorming sessions for the “No Wipes in the Pipes” campaign frequently drew on experiences from earlier outreach efforts, as well as from professional contacts made along the way.

One of those connections was with a sanitary district in Casper, Wyoming, where a similar outreach effort had resulted in creation of the “No Wipes in the Pipes” logo that the Contra Costa partnership ultimately adopted for its own campaign. The Wyoming district was happy to share its logo for an important cause and thrilled to see its use spread far outside its state of origin.

While results of the Contra Costa campaign are still being assessed, members of the partnership have already offered anecdotal evidence that the message was well received, with their customers having seen the no-wipes ads on buses and billboards or mentioning habit changes resulting from the campaign.

Ultimately repetition is necessary to cement the message with the public, but partnership members are making strides already by continuing to use elements of the campaign in their individual efforts to educate customers about the hazards of disposable wipes.