Don’t flush your wet wipes

Alice Angeloni Reporter from Marlborough Express

Marlborough District Council operations and maintenance engineer Stephen Rooney is urging people not to flush wet wipes down the toilet.

“Despite being advertised as ‘flushable’, wet wipes don’t break down like toilet paper. When they bind together they block our pumps that keep the sewage moving through the pipes,” he said.

As a result, Council staff had to raise the underground pumps and manually clear them of clumps of wet wipes and other debris that had accumulated, he said.

“Given the current Covid-19 situation, more people are using wet wipes in an effort to keep up hygiene practices. Unfortunately the material wet wipes are made from is not kind to our pipes and they should be placed in the rubbish bin instead,” Rooney said.

“When it comes to what you can safely flush, people need to remember the three P's – pee, poo and paper, anything else should be put in the rubbish.”

Rooney asked that people consider the staff who had to respond when an alarm alerted them to a blocked sewage pump.

“It’s not the nicest job and it takes our staff away from essential work, so it would be good if people could wrap their rubbish and put it out in the council bag instead of blocking toilets, drains or the sewerage system.”