Don’t throw your undies down loo
Rag monsters and fatbergs are not wanted in sewers
Rag monsters and fatbergs are causing chaos for Kaipara District Council and costing ratepayers tens of thousands of dollars to clear up. It may not be visible to those above ground, but underneath in the bowels of Kaipara’s wastewater networks, rag monsters and fatbergs are creating havoc and costing ratepayers money.
“We’ve said it before and we’re saying it again. The only things going down your toilet should be the three P’s,” says Kaipara District Council operations manager Donnick Mugutso.
“Pee, poo and toilet paper down the loo is great. Anything else, including rags, sheets, wet wipes, sanitary items, clothing, general waste, is not. Those items do not belong in your toilet, and flushing them through the system does terrible and costly damage.”
Wastewater networks are designed to process biodegradable waste, not items like sheets, rags and underwear which don’t break down easily.
Rag monsters seem to be on the up, Mugutso said, with council contractors having to dig up, repair and refit the wastewater grinder pumps each time a blockage occurs.
If rags manage to make it through the grinder pumps, they land in the wastewater treatment ponds, causing capacity issues as layers build up over time and compromise the treatment processes.
He said rag monsters are created from a mix of items that are not meant to be flushed down the toilet. Sanitary wipes are a common occurrence, as are sheets, rags, underwear, diapers, tampons and sanitary pads, and general waste.
Fatbergs, made up of cooking oils, food waste, and other solids also cause blockages, and Mugutso urges kitchen users to dispose of these in the compost bin or rubbish, rather than down the sink.
It’s not just in the Kaipara where people flushing the wrong things down the toilet is causing issues.
According to Water New Zealand, a conservative estimate of around $16 million each year is spent on unblocking wastewater pipes across the country.
Globally, an even bigger problem was found when giant fatbergs blocked sewers in London, New York, Denver, Valencia, and Melbourne.
In February 2018, the Museum of London opened Fatberg!, a display about the infamous Whitechapel fatberg.
The museum, which had been hoping to have a fatberg on exhibition for some years beforehand, bought some of the Whitechapel fatberg after it was dug up from sewers below the London Borough of Whitechapel in October 2017.
Most of the fatberg discovered in Whitechapel — weighing 130 tonnes and stretching more than 250 metres — was converted into biodiesel.
The Fatberg! exhibition told the story of the nine-week battle to remove the massive blockage, and its journey from the Victorian sewers in Whitechapel to the sealed display case it rested in.