Scottish Water appeal to Bo'ness residents to stop flushing wipes down toilet

In the last few months Scottish Water engineers have been called out on numerous occasions to clear chokes and blockages in the Bo’ness sewer network.

Occasionally items that shouldn’t be flushed, such as wipes and period products, can escape into the local waterways causing what is know as an EPI (Environmental Pollution Incident). There have been two incident this year at the Dean Burn and the Forth Estuary.

Once in the sewer system, wipes, around 90 per cent of which contain plastics, combine with fats, oils and grease to form congealed lumps known as fatbergs that block pipes leading to sewer flooding.

Scottish Water has launched a local campaign specifically aimed at residents in the area, encouraging people to always ‘bin the wipes’. Scott Fraser, Scottish Water’s corporate affairs manager in the south said: “Bo’ness’ bonnie beaches and burns are no place for used wipes and sanitary products. By following a few simple steps, people can dramatically reduce the impact these items have on the public sewer network, lowering the risk of sewer flooding and pollution incidents, as well as cutting the annual cost of dealing with sewer chokes and blockages.”

Scottish Water has been able to identify the likely origin of the damaging flushed wipes that caused the EPIs and is sending out letters to those residential streets, with advice on how wipes should be disposed in a way that is safe for drains and the environment.

Scott Fraser added: “Our wider Nature Calls campaign is asking the people of Scotland to bin wipes and other sanitary products to protect nature, and ultimately to ban wipes made from plastic.

“Many of these products combine with fats, oils and grease to create blockages – around 36,000 a year - which Scottish Water clears at a cost of £7 million. Just a small change in our bathroom and kitchen behaviours will make a huge difference to our environment.”

People can back the ban by adding their name and email to the supporters list here