Some of the greatest luxuries of modern life are those that we barely notice. Take flushing a toilet, for example. When it works, our waste disappears with a simple flush, and we barely think about it. But when it doesn’t work, well, it’s often an unpleasant emergency.
Many of us know the rules: paper, poo and pee only. But just ask a plumber, or the ‘Blockage Buster’ teams at Icon Water, and they’ll tell you that not everyone knows what not to flush.
When Icon Water conducted research on what Canberrans flush, they found that 11 per cent have flushed sanitary products, from condoms to tampons to cotton buds. Nearly half of these people did so because they didn’t know it could cause a problem.
On the back of the successful ‘Free the Poo’ campaign, which targeted binning wet wipes, Icon Water have launched phase 2 to highlight just how much damage flushing sanitary products can cause on both the wastewater network and in household plumbing.
It’s a tricky one. Sanitary products are inherently private. But they are a reality of life, and when they’re disposed of in a toilet, they are a reality for plumbers and Icon Water. Every sanitary product flushed is removed (often in big clumps) by hand.
So, what can you do to protect your plumbing and the pipes that flow through Canberra? Simply, if you haven’t already, make sure there is a bin near your toilets and dispose of your sanitary products in it. Half of the survey respondents who had flushed sanitary products knowing it could cause a problem said they had ‘no other option’.
This is a classic situation where the actions of a few can cost us all a lot. And if the two main causes behind this problem are not knowing and not having a safe disposal option – then the solution is clear: education, and bins.
Icon Water’s ‘Free the Poo’ round 2 will be on buses, billboards and toilet doors in malls, and on the radio waves. Plus, Icon Water are working with educational institutions and other public spaces to make sure people are not put in the situation of not having a safe disposal option.
Visit freethepoo.com.au to learn more.
