New York City has spent $ 18 million in five years unclogging 'flushable ' wet wipes from the sewer system . As the products have become increasingly popular , many manufacturers claim to have 'adapted ' them to biodegrade when flushed . But the city 's waste management directors have told the New York Times : that is not the case . 'Indestructible ' : Wet wipes branded as 'flushable ' have been clogging up the system by twisting into knots . When the wipes twist into a knot and mix with grease or oil , they are 'really indestructible , ' deputy commissioner Vincent Sapienza of the Department of Environmental Protection said . Worming their way into the pipes of homes , offices and public buildings , the wipes have doubled the amount of solid waste that needs to be extracted from water treatment plants . Dave Rousse , president of the wipes trade group , insisted to the Times that users are not flushing the products properly . Outrage : New York City 's water waste management has spent $ 18 million on wet wipes in five years . His words have been slammed by city officials - and waste water managers around the country - who insist the wipes should be disposed of in the trash . The controversy could be solved by an experiment , backed by Mayor Bill de Blasio , that will test which wipes survive the entire sewage system . If so , under a new bill , the manufacturers would be ordered to remove the term 'flushable ' from its packaging .
pipe wipes increasingly popular in New York , many marketed as flushable . Waste management experts believe they form indestructible knots . EPA has spent more than $ 18 million extracting wipes from pipes since inception .