ENVIRONMENT Protection Authority Victoria is urging residents to ‘think before they flush’, because of concerns that the use of wet wipes, tissues or paper towels as alternatives to toilet paper could put pressure on the state’s sewers and domestic wastewater systems.People should only flush the three P’s down the toilet — Pee, Poo and toilet Paper. If Victorians do not have toilet paper to use, then the alternatives should be disposed of in the main household waste bin.Sewers are not designed to handle wet wipes, tissues and paper towels. They clump together forming slimy thick mounds commonly called ‘fatbergs’, which cause blockages or damage to infrastructure. This leads to sewer spills that impact on the environment and can create a public health issue.EPA deputy chief environmental scientist Dan Evans said while wet wipes might be marked as ‘flushable’ that does not guarantee they will biodegrade and not cause pollution to our environment.“Sewer spills of wet wipes, litter, paper towels and tissues can get caught up in vegetation in drains and cause water quality issues,” Dr Evans said.
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