Public Act 102-0286
 
SB0294 EnrolledLRB102 05152 CPF 15173 b

    AN ACT concerning safety.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Wipes
Labeling Act.
 
    Section 5. Findings. The General Assembly finds that
creating labeling standards for disposable wipes products will
protect public health, the environment, water quality, and
public infrastructure used for the collection, transport, and
treatment of wastewater. It is not the intent of the General
Assembly to address standards for flushability with this Act.
 
    Section 10. Definitions. In this Act:
    "Covered entity" means:
        (1) the manufacturer of a covered product that is sold
    or offered for sale in this State; and
        (2) a wholesaler, supplier, or retailer that is
    responsible for the labeling or packaging of a covered
    product.
    "Covered product" means a consumer product sold or offered
for sale in the State that is either of the following:
        (1) A premoistened nonwoven disposable wipe marketed
    as a baby wipe or diapering wipe.
        (2) A premoistened nonwoven disposable wipe that is
    both of the following:
            (A) Composed entirely of or in part of
        petrochemical-derived fibers.
            (B) Likely to be used in a bathroom and has
        significant potential to be flushed, including baby
        wipes, bathroom cleaning wipes, toilet cleaning wipes,
        hard surface cleaning wipes, disinfecting wipes, hand
        sanitizing wipes, antibacterial wipes, facial and
        makeup removal wipes, general purpose cleaning wipes,
        personal care wipes for use on the body, feminine
        hygiene wipes, adult incontinence wipes, adult hygiene
        wipes, and body cleansing wipes.
    "High contrast" means:
        (1) provided by either a light symbol on a solid dark
    background or a dark symbol on a solid light background;
    and
        (2) having at least 70% contrast between the symbol
    artwork and background using the formula [(B1 - B2) / B1] *
    100, where B1 is the light reflectance value of the
    relatively lighter area and B2 is the light reflectance
    value of the relatively darker area.
    "Jurisdictional wastewater authority" means a sanitary
district, water reclamation district, municipality, county, or
other unit of local government in this State responsible for
the collection or treatment of wastewater.
    "Label" means to represent by statement, word, picture,
design, or emblem on a covered product package.
    "Label notice" means the phrase "Do Not Flush" in a size
equal to at least 2% of the surface area of the principal
display panel. For covered products regulated pursuant to the
Federal Hazardous Substances Act (15 U.S.C. 1261 et seq.) by
the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission under
Section 1500.121 of Title 16 of the Code of Federal
Regulations, if the label notice requirements in this
paragraph would result in a type size larger than first aid
instructions pursuant to the Federal Hazardous Substances Act,
then the type size for the label notice shall, to the extent
permitted by federal law, be equal to or greater than the type
size required for the first aid instructions. For covered
products required to be registered by the United States
Environmental Protection Agency under the Federal Insecticide,
Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (7 U.S.C. 136 et seq.), if the
label notice requirements in this paragraph would result in a
type size on the principal display panel larger than a warning
pursuant to the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and
Rodenticide Act, then the type size for the label notice
shall, to the extent permitted by federal law, be equal to or
greater than the type size required for the "Keep Out of Reach
of Children" statement under 40 CFR 156.66.
    "Principal display panel" means the side of the product
package that is most likely to be displayed, presented, or
shown under customary conditions of display for retail sale.
In the case of a cylindrical or nearly cylindrical package,
the surface area of the principal display panel constitutes
40% of the product package as measured by multiplying the
height of the container by the circumference. In the case of a
flexible film package in which a rectangular prism or nearly
rectangular prism stack of wipes is housed within the film,
the surface area of the principal display panel is measured by
multiplying the length by the width of the side of the package
when the flexible packaging film is pressed flat against the
stack of wipes on all sides of the stack.
    "Symbol" means the "Do Not Flush" symbol, or a gender
equivalent thereof, as depicted in the INDA/EDANA Code of
Practice Second Edition and published within "Guidelines for
Assessing the Flushability of Disposable Nonwoven Products,"
Edition 4, May 2018. The symbol shall be sized equal to at
least 2% of the surface area of the principal display panel,
except as specified in subdivision (iii) of paragraph (B) of
subsection (a) of Section 15.
 
    Section 15. Labeling requirements.
    (a) Except as provided in subsections (b), (c), (d), and
(f), a covered product manufactured on or after July 1, 2022
shall be labeled clearly and conspicuously in adherence to the
following labeling requirements:
        (1) In the case of cylindrical or near cylindrical
    packaging intended to dispense individual wipes, a covered
    entity shall comply with one of the following options:
            (A) Place the symbol and label notice on the
        principal display panel in a location reasonably
        viewable each time a wipe is dispensed.
            (B) Place the symbol on the principal display
        panel and either the symbol or label notice, or the
        symbol and label notice in combination, on the flip
        lid, subject to the following:
                (i) If the label notice does not appear on the
            flip lid, the label notice shall be placed on the
            principal display panel.
                (ii) The symbol or label notice, or the symbol
            and label notice in combination, on the flip lid
            may be embossed, and in that case are not required
            to comply with paragraph (6).
                (iii) The symbol or label notice, or the
            symbol and label notice in combination, on the
            flip lid shall cover a minimum of 8% of the surface
            area of the flip lid.
        (2) In the case of flexible film packaging intended to
    dispense individual wipes, a covered entity shall place
    the symbol on the principal display panel and dispensing
    side panel and shall place the label notice on either the
    principal display panel or dispensing side panel in a
    prominent location reasonably visible to the user each
    time a wipe is dispensed. If the principal display panel
    is on the dispensing side of the package, 2 symbols are not
    required.
        (3) In the case of refillable tubs or other rigid
    packaging intended to dispense individual wipes and be
    reused by the consumer for that purpose, a covered entity
    shall place the symbol and label notice on the principal
    display panel in a prominent location reasonably visible
    to the user each time a wipe is dispensed.
        (4) In the case of packaging not intended to dispense
    individual wipes, a covered entity shall place the symbol
    and label notice on the principal display panel in a
    prominent and reasonably visible location.
        (5) A covered entity shall ensure that the packaging
    seams, folds, or other package design elements do not
    obscure the symbol or the label notice.
        (6) A covered entity shall ensure that the symbol and
    label notice have sufficiently high contrast with the
    immediate background of the packaging to render it likely
    to be seen and read by the ordinary individual under
    customary conditions of purchase and use.
    (b) For covered products sold in bulk at retail, both the
outer package visible at retail and the individual packages
contained within shall comply with the labeling requirements
in subsection (a) applicable to the particular packaging
types, except the following:
        (1) Individual packages contained within the outer
    package that are not intended to dispense individual wipes
    and contain no retail labeling.
        (2) Outer packages that do not obscure the symbol and
    label notice on individual packages contained within.
    (c) If a covered product is provided within the same
packaging as another consumer product for use in combination
with the other consumer product, the outside retail packaging
of the other consumer product does not need to comply with the
labeling requirements of subsection (a).
    (d) If a covered product is provided within the same
package as another consumer product for use in combination
with the other product and is in a package smaller than 3
inches by 3 inches, the covered entity of the covered product
may comply with the requirements of subsection (a) by placing
the symbol and label notice in a prominent location reasonably
visible to the user of the covered product.
    (e) A covered entity, directly or through a corporation,
partnership, subsidiary, division, trade name, or association
in connection to the manufacturing, labeling, packaging,
advertising, promotion, offering for sale, sale, or
distribution of a covered product, shall not make any
representation, in any manner, expressly or by implication,
including through the use of a product name, endorsement,
depiction, illustration, trademark, or trade name, about the
flushable attributes, flushable benefits, flushable
performance, or flushable efficacy of a covered product.
    (f) If a covered product is required to be registered by
the United States Environmental Protection Agency under the
Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (7 U.S.C.
136 et seq.) and the Illinois Department of Agriculture under
the Illinois Pesticide Act, then the covered entity shall
submit a label compliant with the labeling requirements of
subsection (a) no later than July 1, 2023 to the United States
Environmental Protection Agency.
    If the United States Environmental Protection Agency or
the Illinois Department of Agriculture does not approve a
product label that otherwise complies with the labeling
requirements of subsection (a), the covered entity shall use a
label with as many of the requirements of this Section as the
relevant agency has approved.
    (g) A covered entity may include on a covered product
words or phrases in addition to those required for the label
notice if the words or phrases are consistent with the
purposes of this Section.
 
    Section 20. Nonconfidential business information. Upon a
request by a jurisdictional wastewater authority, a covered
entity must submit to the requesting entity, within 90 days
after the request, nonconfidential business information and
documentation demonstrating compliance with this Act in a
format that is easy to understand.
 
    Section 25. Jurisdictional wastewater authority; authority
to enforce; civil penalties.
    (a) Jurisdictional wastewater authorities have the
concurrent and exclusive authority to enforce this Act and to
collect civil penalties for violations of this Act, subject to
the conditions in this Section. A jurisdictional wastewater
authority may impose a civil penalty in the amount of up to
$2,000 for the first violation of this Act, up to $5,000 for
the second violation, and up to $10,000 for the third and any
subsequent violation. If a covered entity has paid a prior
penalty for the same violation to a different jurisdictional
wastewater authority with enforcement authority under this
Section, the penalty imposed by a jurisdictional wastewater
authority shall be reduced by the amount of the payment.
    (b) Any civil penalties collected pursuant to this Section
must be paid to the enforcing jurisdictional wastewater
authority that brought the action.
    (c) The remedies provided by this Section are not
exclusive and are in addition to the remedies that may be
available under relevant consumer protection laws, if
applicable.
    (d) In addition to penalties recovered under this Section,
the enforcing jurisdictional wastewater authority may recover
reasonable enforcement costs and attorneys' fees from the
liable covered entity.
 
    Section 30. Noncompliant covered entities. Covered
entities that violate the requirements of this Act are subject
to the civil penalties described in Section 25. A specific
violation is deemed to have occurred upon the sale of a
noncompliant product package. The sale of multiple units of
the same noncompliant product package is considered part of
the same, single violation. A jurisdictional wastewater
authority must send a written notice of an alleged violation
and a copy of the requirements of this Act to a noncompliant
covered entity, which will have 90 days to become compliant. A
jurisdictional wastewater authority may assess a first penalty
if the covered entity has not met the requirements of this Act
90 days after the date the notification was sent. A
jurisdictional wastewater authority may impose a second,
third, and subsequent penalty on a covered entity that remains
noncompliant with the requirements of this Act for every month
of noncompliance.
 
    Section 35. Home rule. A home rule unit may not regulate
the labeling of covered products in a manner inconsistent with
the regulation by the State of the labeling of covered
products under this Act. This Section is a limitation under
subsection (i) of Section 6 of Article VII of the Illinois
Constitution on the concurrent exercise by home rule units of
powers and functions exercised by the State.
 
    Section 97. Severability. The provisions of this Act are
severable under Section 1.31 of the Statute on Statutes.
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1,
2022.

Effective Date: 7/1/2022