Wet Wipes have become a toilet necessity for adults and babies alike, around the world. They are created to be single use, indestructible and 'flushable', which is why they are now causing havoc in New York sewer systems.
"The city has spent more than $US18 million ($23.5 million) in the past five years on wipe-related equipment problems, officials said. The volume of materials extracted from screening machines at the city's wastewater treatment plants has more than doubled since 2008, an increase attributed largely to the wipes.
Removal is an unpleasant task. The dank clusters, graying and impenetrable, gain mass like demon snowballs as they travel. Pumps clog. Gears falter. Then, there is the final blow, wrought by an intake of sewage that overwhelmed a portion of a north Brooklyn treatment plant.
"Odour control," a sign there reads. But on a recent afternoon, the second word had disappeared behind a wayward splotch: It was a used wipe, etched with a heavenly cloud design."
The rise in popularity of Wet Wipes is in large part due to ease and convenience. The wipes are made usually made with a mixture of plastics and synthetics derived from crude oil. They are not biodegradable and not compostable. Every individual Wet Wipe and baby wipe will take (sometimes 100s of) years to break down.
Simon Evans from Thames Water explains,
"Wet wipes should never be put down drains, because they don't break down – even if the packaging says they are 'biodegradable' or 'flushable'. Only human waste and loo roll should go down our sewers."
Make the switch to a more sustainable toilet paper.
We like Who Gives a Crap and Pure Planet- the latter of which is made with sugar cane and bamboo waste.