Please do not flush wet wipes!
Council staff found the wipes that were flushed down the toilet were responsible for 30%% of all wastewater system blockages. Removing wet wipe blockages cost ratepayers an estimated $168,000 last financial year.
The blockages - such as one that caused a sewerage overflow in Pilot Bay and closed the popular swimming spot for a week at the height of summer - could cause damage to both the environment and the Tauranga's reputation as a tourism destination.
The council has also started lobbying the Government to ban "misleading" words such as "flushable" and "biodegradable" from being used to market wet wipes made mostly from plastic.
Wet wipes were usually made of a fabric woven together with plastic resins such as polyester or polypropylene, which were not biodegradable.
Story and image credit: NZ Herald
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