Disgusting mass of flushed wet wipes being pulled from sewer after system is clogged

Yorkshire Water has released images of a huge mass of disgusting wet wipes being removed from a Hull sewer to warn people not to flush them down the toilet

A sickening mass of wet wipes has been released after being removed from a sewer, in a message to people not to flush them down the toilet.

The disgusting images, removed from a sewer in Hull and released by Yorkshire Water, show how wet wipes and sanitary napkins can clog pipes – with the company saying it is spending “millions” to clear clogs.

Yorkshire Water has called for mandatory “do not rinse” labeling on wet wipes after research found current labeling confuses consumers, reported HullLive.

The research found that 20% of people consider wet wipes to be “essential” and 85% of people regularly buy at least one type of wipe.

But it’s the packaging of wipes and instructions on how to dispose of them that creates confusion, especially for toilet tissues and baby wipes, which are the most commonly flushed.

Once flushed, these wipes—even those labeled “fine flush”—do not break down the sewer system and can cause clogs.

The result can be that sewage enters properties and gardens and in some cases pollutes local water courses.

Research shows that one in five people believe even wipes without a “fine rinse” label can be flushed down, and 38% of respondents said they would flush biodegradable wipes as they dissolve or degrade more quickly.

Ben Roche, Director of Waste Water at Yorkshire Water, said: “Consumers are currently faced with a range of different logos and claims on packs of wet wipes, including ‘fine rinse’, ‘do not rinse’ and ‘biodegradable’ labels.

“Products labeled ‘Fine Rinse’ often indicate that only one cloth should be rinsed at a time, but this is often not followed or understood by customers, with less than half saying the logo indicates that only one cloth should be rinsed at a time.

“Nevertheless, these wipes generally contain plastic and therefore do not break down in wastewater like toilet paper. Of course, all wet wipe packaging must have a standard message and we are calling for a mandatory ‘do not rinse’ message to avoid the confusion consumers are currently experiencing when purchasing all types of wipes.”

Consumers who took part in the survey said that wet wipe manufacturers have the responsibility for funding the development of plastic-free wipes (89%), eliminating the environmental impact of wipes (73%) and campaigns to encourage correct disposal (62%). should take over. ).

They also said governments, water companies and retailers should also have some responsibility for the impact of wet wipes.

Mr Roche added: “We are also calling on the Government to extend responsibility to manufacturers to cover the cost of educating customers on the correct disposal methods and the cost of cleaning up due to incorrect disposal.

“We continue to spend millions of pounds each year to unclog clogs from wet wipes and toiletries and to run public awareness campaigns on proper disposal. We have seen some retailers begin to address this issue and ban all wipes containing plastic, and we would urge others to do the same.”