Unflushables wrongly disposed of by 45% of people

Nearly half of people have admitted to disposing of non-flushable items such as wet wipes and sanitary products down toilets, which can lead to blockages and pollution from sewer networks.

That is according to a survey by Thames Water, which showed that 45% of people had put at least one unflushable product in the loo instead of the bin. This broke down as 29% having flushed wet wipes, 24% having flushed a tampon and 12% flushing nappies.

It also showed that 55% of those surveyed rarely thought about what would happen to such products after they have been flushed.

City to Sea, the environmental group crusading against plastics, estimated around 2.5 million tampons, 1.4 million sanitary pads and 700,000 panty liners are flushed every single day in the UK. The majority of these products contain plastics.

The survey also suggested that 27% of people said they would not flush such items if they knew they would cause damage to the environment. However, 22% of respondents also admitted they have flushed more wipes since the start of the pandemic than previously.

During the national lockdown water companies reported higher rate of sewer blockages as householders used more wipes and alternatives to toilet paper.

Fleur Anderson, the Labour MP who introduced a private members bill to ban plastics in wet wipes, said: “It is shocking that so many people are still flushing non-dispersible wet wipes and other plastic containing items. We need clearer labelling on all plastic containing items.

“My bill to ban plastic in wet wipes aims to take the choice out of the hands of the consumer and make sure that manufacturers take responsibility for combating the plastic pollution that is causing untold damage to our water systems and marine environments,” Anderson said.

Her bill is scheduled to have a second reading in parliament on 25 February. Yorkshire Water has also publicly declared support of the bill and called for the ban to be extended to include other single-use items.

Ben Roche, director of wastewater at Yorkshire said: “We have backed Fleur Anderson’s bill to ban plastics in wet wipes and are urging the government to take further action to ban plastics in all single use sanitary items. We are also calling for the government to increase responsibility of manufacturers of all single use sanitary items to cover cost of educating customers about correct methods of disposal, and the clean-up costs that come from incorrect disposal.”

Blockages in the wastewater networks that can cause fatbergs and lead to pollution incidents are estimated to cost water companies around £100 million each year, adding to water bills.

Thames said it alone spends £18 million clearing around 75,000 blockages annually. In Yorkshire, 45% of blockages in 2021 were caused by wet wipes.

The survey of more than 2,000 people across the UK was carried out by Censuswide on behalf of Thames in November 2021.