Dubliners have been warned against flushing a number of items down the toilet.
These items could result in blockages in our wastewater network and treatment plants, and sewage-related litter spilling out onto our beaches and oceans, damaging our marine environment. These "dirty dozen" items could include many toiletries such as wet wipes, cotton pads, and dental floss.
Other common items are hair, paper towels, medicine, tampons, food items, contact lenses, condoms, cigarette butts, and cotton bud sticks. The warning comes as a part of Think Before You Flush campaign that was recently introduced to the students at Malahide/Portmarnock Educate Together National School.
Read more: Grim toilet blockages causing damage to Dublin beaches
This campaign looks at the issue of pouring fats, oils, and greases (FOGs) from cooking down the kitchen sink. Instead of flowing freely, they cool and harden as they travel along the wastewater network. When these FOGs combine with wipes and other sewage-related litter such as hair and dental floss, fatbergs can form leading to overflows of sewage in our communities and pollution in our rivers, on our beaches and in the ocean.
Uisce Eireann attends around 200 callouts per week due to blocked sewers caused by flushing or pouring inappropriate items. Wastewater Regional Operations Manager Jonathan Deane said: "At wastewater treatment plants right across Dublin we are removing an increasing volume of wipes and other items from the inlets. Our crews are also dealing with an increasing number of blockages in our sewers, that can cause overflows to the environment.
"Uisce Eireann responded to approximately 10,000 customer-notified blockages in 2022 alone. We are delighted to be working with Clean Coasts and local schools including Malahide/Portmarnock Educate Together to raise awareness of this item and encourage teachers, pupils and their families to Think Before You Flush for cleaner communities and environment."
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