MACOMB COUNTY — A Macomb County official and three Michigan-based legislators are calling on other federal lawmakers to pass legislation requiring a change in labeling and marketing of “flushable” wipes.

On May 6, Macomb County Public Works Commissioner Candice Miller filed a lawsuit due to said wipes not being biodegradable and causing significant blockage and expense in municipal and regional sewer systems.

The lawsuit mentions nine defendants, all of which manufacture wipes: Dude Products Inc., Nehemiah Manufacturing Co. LLC, Kimberly-Clark Corp., Procter & Gamble Co., Nice-Pak Products Inc., Professional Disposables International Inc., Rockline Industries Inc., S.C. Johnson & Son Inc., and C.B. Fleet Co. Inc.

The companies produce and sell the majority of the wipes in the United States.

In 2018, Miller’s department removed a 19-ton mass of accumulated grease, fats and oils characterized as a “fatberg.” Last year, the department removed a 1-ton “ragball” composed of thousands of wipes clumped together in a county sewer.