My Account
Watercare is reminding people to keep an eye on what they’re flushing down the toilet or sink to save taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars each year. Clearing pipe blockages currently costs Watercare $1 million every year and 70 per cent of those blockages are caused by items that were incorrectly disposed of. Wet wipes make up almost half of those items, while personal products and fats also feature.
Some people have even flushed away car parts, dead pets and, in one instance, a passport just before they were scheduled to be deported from Auckland International Airport. More than 2000 tonnes of material per year is collected from the Mangere wastewater treatment plant alone, and that total includes over 50 million wet wipes. Warkworth experienced its own issues from blockages in 2017, when fats washed away by local eateries caused a manhole in Elizabeth Street to block and overflow.
As well as encouraging people to be mindful of this issue, Watercare is also taking matters into its own hands by trying to create a joint “Flushability Standard” with Australia.
This would determine what can legally be flushed away with the ability to implement fines for people who ignore the standard.
