Bag it and bin it

Are you using your toilet correctly?

We all take for granted the fact that our toilets flush and everyone knows what the toilet is for.  But, do you realise that flushing other items is not only damaging to the environment but can actually be dangerous?

Sewers were only designed to deal with three things:

• Urine,
• Faeces, and
• Toilet tissue. 

Anything else that is flushed away can cause a real hazard as well as a waste of water.  You wouldn’t dream of using your bin as a toilet, so why use your toilet as a bin?

Disposable products are part of everyone’s life.  They are, by their very nature, easy and convenient to use, and just as easy to dispose of but not down the toilet please.

It might be a case of out of site out of mind for you but items such as tampons, sanitary towels, panty liners, wet wipes, nappies, razor blades, cotton buds, packaging etc can all cause blockages in the drains, the sewage pipes or at the sewage treatment works.  They don’t dissolve or break up quickly and they can cause blockages and flooding and have to be removed further down the line and sent to landfill where they should have gone in the first place. 

Did you know that tampons can take six months to biodegrade in the sea while plastics can remain in the environment indefinitely?

Unblocking the main sewerage system is expensive work for Northumbrian Water and our customers and if you block your own household drain then you will have to pay for someone to clear it – it could cost you a lot of money.

Download our leaflet Do you use your toilet as a bin  to find out more.

You know what the toilet is for please don’t use it to get rid of anything else.