Don’t flush ‘flushable’
Barwon Water issues fresh toilet warning
WET wipes are wreaking havoc on the city’s sewerage system, and remain the main culprit of expensive blockages.
Wipes are still causing hundreds of sewer blockages a year and costing thousands of dollars to remove, Barwon Water acting general manager of infrastructure services Brad Richards said.
Barwon Water is urging customers not to flush wipes down the toilet, even the ones marketed as being ‘flushable’.
The water utility launched the ‘Don’t be fooled by flushable’ campaign last year to raise awareness of the damage wipes cause to the sewerage system, but Mr Richards said wipes were still found in almost every pipe blockage.
“Wipes are still the main culprit clogging our sewerage systems,” he said.
“We need to get the message out there that people should not flush baby wipes, cleaning wipes, make-up wipes and personal hygiene wipes down the toilet,” he said.
“Don’t be fooled by ‘flushable’ on the packaging, the only true flushable is toilet paper.”
Mr Richards said it was “more than just a Barwon Water issue though, with wipes also responsible for blockages in household pipes”.
“Such a blockage can cause unpleasant sewage overflows and lead to expensive plumbing bills for homeowners,” he said.
Last January, the Geelong Advertiser revealed false teeth, children’s toys and money were among the strange items pulled from the city’s sewerage system.
Mr Richards said Barwon Water staff continued to work with a Water Services Association of Australia industry group to develop appropriate “flushability” standards for Australian and international manufacturers.
In 2016, Barwon Water was one of 230 water utilities from across the globe to support an industry position on ‘nonflushable’ and ‘flushable’ labelled products.
Utilities from Australia, New Zealand, United States, the UK and Europe signed an agreement which stated that only the three Ps, standing for pee, poo and toilet paper, should be flushed.
The utilities called for other products labelled ‘flushable’ to be labelled ‘do not flush’ until there was a standard agreed by the water and wastewater industry.
“For now, customers should dispose of wipes in the bin,” Mr Richards said.