Yorkshire Water has called on wet wipe manufacturers to do more to encourage customers to dispose of wipes in the bin as the company looks to reduce sewer blockages.
It said it is called out to more than 30,000 sewer blockages every year, costing £2.4 million, with 40 per cent of incidents caused by wipes which contain plastic and do not break down.
As part of Yorkshire Water’s commitment to reduce the number of customers who experience sewer flooding incidents in their home by 70 per cent, the company has launched a customer awareness campaign to highlight the problem flushing wipes can cause.
Tom Phillips, customer service manager at Yorkshire Water, said: “We would like wet wipe manufacturers to increase the prominence of the ‘no flushing’ symbol on their packaging and let their customers know that wipes can cause blockages.”
The problem is something experienced by water companies across the country. In a report published by Water UK in December last year, the trade body said a study of 54 sewer blockages found wipes are responsible for 93 per cent of the material causing the sewer blockages.
Less than 1 per cent of the domestic waste in the blockages was identified as made up of products which are designed to be flushed. Water UK said there are approximately 300,000 sewer blockages every year, costing the country £100 million.
The study was jointly funded and supported by Water UK, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and EDANA – the trade association for the nonwovens industry, which includes the wipes sector.
Last year, Thames Water battled for nine weeks to clear a 250-metre long “monster” fatberg, which was blocking an east London sewer.
The 130-tonne congealed mass of fat, oil, grease, nappies, wet wipes and other sanitary products was discovered beneath Whitechapel in September.
Part of the fatberg has been on display in the London Museum and a documentary on Channel 4 called Fatberg Autopsy will be aired later this year, which will show one being dissected and analysed.
Meanwhile Northumbrian Water has been running its “Love your drain” campaign for the past six years, promoting the three Ps – pee, poo and paper.
Richard Warneford, the company’s wastewater director, said: “It’s great to see the water industry delivering a joined-up message to customers about what to flush and not flush down the toilet.”