The scale of the problem of the problem caused by flushing ‘unflushables’ seems to be growing. MCS through their citizen science monitoring of beaches have highlighted the number of wet wipes that make it that far but the real problem lies with the blockages these and other items are creating. The question arises of whether spending £81 million reacting to a problem is the best use of funds and whether more efforts should be spent on taking a proactive approach with the public and manufacturers.

Marine Conservation Society – Wetwipe campaign picked up on beaches …4000 latest count .. this is the tip of the ice berg – wet wipes are a growing problem especially when they interact with other unflushables.  http://www.wetwipesturnnasty.com/  

‘Poobergs’ The Size Of Five Elephants Clogging Up British Drains

Huge mounds of poo – some “the size of five elephants” – are clogging British drains, water company bosses revealed.  They’ve pleaded with people to stop flushing condoms, sanitary towels, wipes and nappies down the loo.   The objects are mixing with human waste and forming vast “poobergs” which are having to be blasted with high-pressure hoses.

www.thesun.co.uk

Lincolnshire Blockages Caused By Hundreds Of Tonnes Of Tampons

Lincoln, Grantham, Spalding and Skegness are among the worst areas for flushing wipes, tampons and other sanitary items down the toilet according to new figures by Anglian Water. Around 800 tonnes of wipes, tampons and other sanitary items are removed from sewers every week in the Eastern region. The mass of sanitary items equates to as much as 21 tonnes of bathroom waste being wrongly flushed per week – roughly the same weight as five adult elephants …