Northumbrian Water is launching its new ‘Bin the Wipe' campaign and giving away more than 1,400 bins to encourage customers not to use their toilets as a bin.
The big bin giveaway incentive is a first for the company, which has found that 54% of households in the UK don't have a bin in their bathroom to dispose of things like wet wipes, and over half of householders keep wipes in their bathroom.
By giving customers a bin, Northumbrian Water is hoping that this will help to encourage small behavioural changes to people's daily habits with wet wipes being the biggest cause of blockages for the company. The incentive will be trialled first in the TS10 postal area of Redcar, which is one of the worst areas for blockages in the North East.
Wrongly flushed items, such as wet wipes can cause all sorts of problems inside customers' homes, to communities and for the environment.
Richard Warneford, Northumbrian Water's Wastewater Director, said:
"Wet wipes are one of the biggest causes of blockages for us and we really need our customers' help - they can make a massive difference by making one simple change and Bin the Wipe.
"Despite wet wipes being promoted as ‘flushable' they rarely are, as they may leave your toilet bowl when flushed but can clog up householders' plumbing and can also cause blockages in our network of sewer pipes.
"Blockages can have devastating consequences to people's homes being flooded and the environment being polluted, which is so saddening to see, so please Bin the Wipe."
In 2019, Northumbrian Water cleared more than 15,600 blockages within its 29,000 kilometres of sewer network across the North East with around 64% caused by wet wipes. The task of clearing blockages costs the water company around £1 million every year.
Rachael Caldwell, Area Environment Manager for the Environment Agency, commented:
"We are always happy to support a campaign that can help our environment and inform people about the importance of what can and can't go down the toilet. This resulting form of flooding and pollution is totally avoidable, and putting the wet wipes into your bathroom bin can be the simple solution."
Click here for more information about the Bin the Wipe campaign
PureTec Separations, the Ledbury-based water treatment engineering firm, has appointed Dan Norman as its new Sales Manager – Water Process Systems, supporting the company’s continued growth in the UK and international markets.
bNovate has launched BactoCloud, a secure cloud-based platform that connects and manages its BactoSense instruments, enabling real-time monitoring and optimization of microbial water quality.
Amiblu, a global leader in Glass Reinforced Plastic (GRP) pipe systems for wastewater, stormwater, drinking water, irrigation, hydropower, and industrial applications, has announced the appointment of Martyn Turton as its Sales Director for the UK & Ireland, driving strategic market development in the infrastructure and water sectors, effective immediately.
As a project manager at Metasphere, a Grundfos-owned remote telemetry company at the cutting edge of innovation, Fey McHarg, has witnessed firsthand how the intelligent harnessing of data, specifically through the data-as-a-service model, is fundamentally reshaping and revolutionising the water sector.
Hear how Scottish Water has completed its £235 million Ayrshire Glasgow Resilience Project - customers across Greater Glasgow, Ayrshire and East Renfrewshire will now benefit from a more secure and resilient water supply.
Hear how United Utilities is accelerating its investment to reduce spills from storm overflows across the Northwest.
Find out more about the remarkable career opportunities on offer at WSP - scroll down to watch the inspirational video.