Kristin Macfarlane: Wet wipes and toilets don't flush well - keep Bay of Plenty waterways healthy

The last place you should put wipes is in the toilet. Photo / File

OPINION:

Honestly, how do you get through to people that flushing wet wipes down a toilet is not a thing?

The messages to avoid that nasty habit are everywhere but it seems no matter where you go, the issue of wet wipes clogging up pipes, creating mayhem on our drainage and wastewater systems continues to be a problem everywhere.

Just yesterday, a wet wipe/fat blockage caused wastewater to overflow into the stormwater network that reaches one of the Bay of Plenty's most popular swimming spots at Mount Maunganui's Pilot Bay.

The overflow, which happened on Sunday night, has meant the water has to be tested for bacteria, with swimmers asked to stay out of the water until further notice.

It's not a new issue at all. Tauranga City Council has a campaign called 'Save Our Pipes from Wipes', because, according to their website, about two tonnes of wet wipes are removed from Tauranga's wastewater system every week.

Rotorua has had its fair share of sewerage blockages thanks to people flushing wipes down their toilets too, with stories featured in this paper highlighting it as an issue since at least 2015.

I really don't think you can claim ignorance on this issue anymore.

Not only is fixing this problem inconvenient and costly, the environmental impact of wastewater polluting our waterways is even more concerning.

If only the blockages could be restricted to the pipes of only the offending households, I'm sure the problem would stop pretty swiftly.

Wet wipes do not break down. They get hooked on other solid parts of the system, clogging pipes and pumps, creating a build-up that can only eventually overflow.

The moral of the story is don't flush wet wipes down the toilet - even if they claim to be flushable on the packaging.

If it's not toilet paper or human excrement people should not flush it down the loo.

Surely that's not too hard to understand?