WIPPES Act

IIB 118TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 2964 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 12, 2024 Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation AN ACT To require certain products to be labeled with ‘Do Not Flush’ labeling, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:04 Jun 13, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2964.RFS H2964 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 2 HR 2964 RFS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Wastewater Infrastruc- 2 ture Pollution Prevention and Environmental Safety Act’’ 3 or the ‘‘WIPPES Act’’. 4 SEC. 2. ‘‘DO NOT FLUSH’’ LABELING. 5 (a) IN GENERAL.—A covered entity shall label a cov- 6 ered product clearly and conspicuously with the label no- 7 tice and symbol, in accordance with subsections (b) and 8 (c). 9 (b) REQUIREMENTS.— 10 (1) CYLINDRICAL PACKAGING.—In the case of a 11 covered product sold in cylindrical or near-cylindrical 12 packaging, and intended to dispense individual 13 wipes— 14 (A) the symbol and label notice shall be 15 displayed on the principal display panel in a 16 clear and conspicuous location reasonably visi- 17 ble to the user each time a wipe is dispensed; 18 or 19 (B) the symbol shall be displayed on the 20 principal display panel and the label notice, or 21 a combination of the label notice and symbol, 22 shall be displayed on a flip lid in a manner that 23 covers at least 8 percent of the surface area of 24 the flip lid. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:04 Jun 13, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2964.RFS H2964 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 3 HR 2964 RFS (2) FLEXIBLE FILM PACKAGING.—In the case 1 of a covered product sold in flexible film packaging, 2 and intended to dispense individual wipes— 3 (A) the symbol shall be displayed on the 4 principal display panel and, if the principal dis- 5 play panel is not on the dispensing side of the 6 packaging, on the dispensing side panel; and 7 (B) the label notice shall be displayed on 8 either the principal display panel or the dis- 9 pensing side panel, in a clear and conspicuous 10 location reasonably visible to the user each time 11 a wipe is dispensed. 12 (3) RIGID PACKAGING.—In the case of a cov- 13 ered product sold in a refillable tub or other rigid 14 packaging that may be reused by a customer, and 15 that is intended to dispense individual wipes, the 16 symbol and label notice shall be displayed on the 17 principal display panel in a clear and conspicuous lo- 18 cation reasonably visible to the user each time a 19 wipe is dispensed. 20 (4) PACKAGING NOT INTENDED TO DISPENSE 21 INDIVIDUAL WIPES.—In the case of a covered prod- 22 uct sold in packaging that is not intended to dis- 23 pense individual wipes, the symbol and label notice 24 shall be displayed on the principal display panel in 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:04 Jun 13, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2964.RFS H2964 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 4 HR 2964 RFS a clear and conspicuous location reasonably visible to 1 the user of the covered product. 2 (5) BULK PACKAGING.— 3 (A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a covered 4 product sold in bulk at retail, the symbol and 5 label notice shall be displayed on both the outer 6 packaging visible at retail and the individual 7 packaging contained within the outer pack- 8 aging. 9 (B) EXEMPTION.—The following shall be 10 exempt from the requirements of subparagraph 11 (A): 12 (i) Individually packaged covered 13 products that are contained within outer 14 packaging, are not intended to dispense in- 15 dividual wipes, and have no retail labeling. 16 (ii) Outer packaging that does not ob- 17 scure the symbol and label notice on indi- 18 vidually packaged covered products con- 19 tained within. 20 (6) PACKAGING OF COMBINED PRODUCTS.— 21 (A) OUTER PACKAGING.—The outer pack- 22 aging of combined products shall be exempt 23 from the symbol and label notice requirements 24 of subsection (a). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:04 Jun 13, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2964.RFS H2964 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 5 HR 2964 RFS (B) PACKAGES LESS THAN 3 BY 3 1 INCHES.—In the case of a covered product in 2 packaging smaller than 3 inches by 3 inches 3 (such as an individually packaged wipe in tear- 4 top packaging) and sold as part of a combined 5 product, if a symbol and label notice are placed 6 in a prominent location reasonably visible to the 7 user of the covered product, such covered prod- 8 uct shall be considered to be labeled clearly and 9 conspicuously. 10 (c) REASONABLE VISIBILITY OF SYMBOL AND LABEL 11 NOTICE.— 12 (1) IN GENERAL.—A covered entity shall ensure 13 that— 14 (A) packaging seams or folds or other 15 packaging design elements do not obscure the 16 symbol or label notice; 17 (B) the symbol and label notice are each 18 equal in size to at least 2 percent of the surface 19 area of the principal display panel; and 20 (C) the symbol and label notice have high 21 contrast with the immediate background of the 22 packaging so that such symbol and label notice 23 may be seen and read by an ordinary individual 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:04 Jun 13, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2964.RFS H2964 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 6 HR 2964 RFS under customary conditions of purchase and 1 use. 2 (2) PROXIMITY OF SYMBOL AND LABEL NO- 3 TICE.—A covered entity may display a symbol and 4 label notice either adjacent to or on separate areas 5 of the principal display panel. 6 (3) EXCEPTION.—Paragraph (1)(C) does not 7 apply to an embossed symbol or label notice on the 8 flip lid of a covered product sold in cylindrical or 9 near-cylindrical packaging. 10 (d) REPRESENTATIONS OF FLUSHABILITY.—With re- 11 spect to a covered product, a covered entity may not make 12 any express or implied representation that such covered 13 product can or should be flushed. 14 (e) ENFORCEMENT BY FEDERAL TRADE COMMIS- 15 SION.— 16 (1) UNFAIR OR DECEPTIVE ACTS OR PRAC- 17 TICES.—A violation of this section or any regulation 18 promulgated under this section shall be treated as a 19 violation of a regulation under section 18(a)(1)(B) 20 of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 21 57a(a)(1)(B)) regarding unfair or deceptive acts or 22 practices. 23 (2) POWERS OF COMMISSION.—The Commis- 24 sion shall enforce this section and any regulations 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:04 Jun 13, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2964.RFS H2964 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 7 HR 2964 RFS promulgated under this section by the same means, 1 and with the same jurisdiction, powers, and duties, 2 as though all applicable terms and provisions of the 3 Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et 4 seq.) were incorporated into and made a part of this 5 section, and any person who violates this section or 6 any regulation promulgated under this section shall 7 be subject to the penalties and entitled to the privi- 8 leges and immunities provided in the Federal Trade 9 Commission Act. 10 (3) REGULATIONS.—The Commission may pro- 11 mulgate regulations under section 553 of title 5, 12 United States Code, to implement this section. In 13 developing the regulations, the Commission may con- 14 sult with the Administrator of the Environmental 15 Protection Agency, the Commissioner of Food and 16 Drugs, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, 17 or any other agency as appropriate. 18 (4) AUTHORITY PRESERVED.—Nothing in this 19 section may be construed to limit the authority of 20 the Commission under any other provision of law. 21 (f) PREEMPTION OF STATE LAWS.—No State or po- 22 litical subdivision of a State may directly or indirectly es- 23 tablish or continue in effect, under any authority, require- 24 ments with respect to the ‘‘Do Not Flush’’ labeling of cov- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:04 Jun 13, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2964.RFS H2964 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 8 HR 2964 RFS ered products that are not identical to the requirements 1 of this section and the regulations promulgated under this 2 section. 3 (g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 4 (1) COMBINED PRODUCT.—The term ‘‘com- 5 bined product’’ means two or more products sold in 6 shared retail packaging, of which— 7 (A) at least one of the products is a cov- 8 ered product; and 9 (B) at least one of the products is another 10 consumer product intended to be used in com- 11 bination with such covered product. 12 (2) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 13 means the Federal Trade Commission. 14 (3) COVERED ENTITY.—The term ‘‘covered en- 15 tity’’ means a manufacturer, wholesaler, supplier, in- 16 dividual or group of individuals, or retailer that is 17 responsible for the labeling or retail packaging of a 18 covered product that is sold or offered for retail sale 19 in the United States. 20 (4) COVERED PRODUCT.— 21 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘covered 22 product’’ means a premoistened, nonwoven dis- 23 posable wipe sold or offered for retail sale— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:04 Jun 13, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2964.RFS H2964 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 9 HR 2964 RFS (i) that is marketed as a baby wipe or 1 diapering wipe; or 2 (ii) that is a household or personal 3 care wipe (including a wipe described in 4 subparagraph (B)) that— 5 (I) is composed entirely, or in 6 part, of petrochemical-derived fibers; 7 and 8 (II) has significant potential to 9 be flushed. 10 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The wipes described in 11 this subparagraph are— 12 (i) antibacterial wipes and disinfecting 13 wipes; 14 (ii) wipes intended for general purpose 15 cleaning or bathroom cleaning, including 16 toilet cleaning and hard surface cleaning; 17 and 18 (iii) wipes intended for personal care 19 use on the body, including hand sanitizing, 20 makeup removal, feminine hygiene, adult 21 hygiene (including incontinence hygiene), 22 and body cleansing. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:04 Jun 13, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2964.RFS H2964 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 10 HR 2964 RFS (5) HIGH CONTRAST.—The term ‘‘high con- 1 trast’’ means, with respect to the symbol or label no- 2 tice, that such symbol or label notice— 3 (A) is either light on a solid dark back- 4 ground or dark on a solid light background; and 5 (B) has a contrast percentage of at least 6 70 percent between such symbol or label notice 7 and the background, using the formula (B1 - 8 B2) / B1 * 100 = contrast percentage, where 9 B1 is the light reflectance value of the lighter 10 area and B2 is the light reflectance value of the 11 darker area. 12 (6) LABEL NOTICE.—The term ‘‘label notice’’ 13 means the written phrase ‘‘Do Not Flush’’. 14 (7) PRINCIPAL DISPLAY PANEL.—The term 15 ‘‘principal display panel’’ means the side of a prod- 16 uct package that is most likely to be displayed, pre- 17 sented, or shown under customary conditions of dis- 18 play for retail sale, and— 19 (A) in the case of a cylindrical or near-cy- 20 lindrical package, the surface area of which 21 constitutes at least 40 percent of the product 22 package, as measured by multiplying the height 23 by the circumference of the package; or 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:04 Jun 13, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2964.RFS H2964 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 11 HR 2964 RFS (B) in the case of a flexible film package 1 in which a rectangular prism or near-rectan- 2 gular prism stack of wipes is housed within the 3 film, the surface area of which is measured by 4 multiplying the length by the width of the side 5 of the package when the flexible packaging film 6 is pressed flat against the stack of wipes on all 7 sides of the stack. 8 (8) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each 9 State of the United States, the District of Columbia, 10 and each commonwealth, territory, or possession of 11 the United States. 12 (9) SYMBOL.—The term ‘‘symbol’’ means the 13 ‘‘Do Not Flush’’ symbol, as depicted in the most re- 14 cent edition of the Guidelines for Assessing the 15 Flushability of Disposable Nonwoven Products pub- 16 lished by the Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics 17 Industry (INDA) and the European Disposables 18 And Nonwovens Association (EDANA), or an other- 19 wise equivalent symbol adopted by the Commission 20 through rulemaking under this section. 21 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:04 Jun 13, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2964.RFS H2964 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 12 HR 2964 RFS (h) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall apply to 1 a covered entity beginning on the date that is 1 year after 2 the date of the enactment of this Act. 3 Passed the House of Representatives June 11, 2024. Attest: KEVIN F. MCCUMBER, Clerk. VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:04 Jun 13, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2964.RFS H2964 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS