One in five admit flushing wet wipes

A new poll has shown 22% of people admit to flushing wet wipes down the toilet even though 88% are aware of the harm this does.

The survey shows almost half (44%) of those aged 18-24 owning up to the practice, compared to just 12% of those over 65.

The research was commissioned by Water UK as the Bin the Wipe campaign, trailblazed by Northumbrian Water, launches nationwide.

This sees water companies across the UK unite to urge the public to stop flushing wet wipes, explicitly linking the habit to the resulting damage to the environment and flooding risk.

The poll of 2,300 adults found that 71% are still using wet wipes, despite 83% claiming it is important to them to use sustainable products. It also revealed 89% see protecting the environment as an important issue to them, along with protecting animals (91%) and pollution of rivers and seas (87%).  It found 27% of men confessing to flushing wet wipes, compared with 18% of women.

Bin the Wipe will highlight the fact that wet wipes cause 75% of drain blockages and are the main contributor to the build up of fatbergs. It will also seek to spread awareness of the c300,000 sewer blockages a year, costing the country £100 million.

Peter Jenkins, director of campaigns at Water UK, said: “Today’s research has revealed that an alarming number of people continue to flush wet wipes down their loo, even when they know the detrimental effect this can have on issues they care about, such as the environment.

“Our national Bin the Wipe campaign aims to encourage people to break the habit of flushing wet wipes down the toilet. By binning wet wipes instead, you can safeguard against blockages in pipes or even flooding in your home, while also helping to protect the environment.”

Northumbrian chief executive Heidi Mottram said: “Since we started asking our customers across the North East to Bin the Wipe at the start of 2020, we have seen blockages reduced by 52% and a 64% decrease in home flooding incidents in the areas where we have taken our campaign.

“We are really excited about the prospect of people across the country getting the message and benefiting from the impact it can have for people’s homes and the environment.”

The campaign has garnered the support of Labour MP Fleur Anderson, whose Private Members’ Bill is calling for plastic to be removed from wet wipes.

She said: “I know that millions of people don’t currently know about the damage that is done by flushing wet wipes, and I’ve been campaigning for years to ban plastic in wet wipes as well as highlight the need to bin, never flush.”