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Wet wipes turn nasty if you flush them
The Marine Conservation Society (MCS) is leading a campaign to ensure wet wipes go in the bin, not down the loo.
Toilets are designed for the three Ps only: poo, pee and (toilet) paper. Wet wipes and other so-called flushable products do not break down in water the way that toilet paper does. Such waste can therefore attach to fatty build-ups in our pipes, causing blockages.
The water industry estimates that it spends around £90 million a year clearing blocked sewers, ultimately adding costs onto water bills, providing another incentive to be very careful with what we throw down the loo.
Dr Laura Foster, Head of Pollution at MCS, said 'This source of microplastic is easy to prevent and we want any product which is being designed to be washed or flushed down the drain to be free from plastics.'
The UK water industry is currently working at an international level to find a flushability standard we can all agree to, but until then, we recommend only flushing the 3 P's.
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