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'Food, cotton wool, condoms' - Nearly 1,500 tonnes of material flushed down toilets

Staff and contractors clear hundreds of blockages every week
Jack Quann
Jack Quann

11.53 16 Feb 2022


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'Food, cotton wool, condoms' -...

'Food, cotton wool, condoms' - Nearly 1,500 tonnes of material flushed down toilets

Jack Quann
Jack Quann

11.53 16 Feb 2022


Share this article


Irish Water had to clear blockages due to the likes of wet wipes, face masks and even nappies being flushed down the toilet.

The utility disposed of nearly 1,500 tonnes of material that had been dumped through the sewer network in 2021.

It says the incorrect disposal of wipes is having a significant impact on the waste water and sewer network.

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Tom Cuddy is head of asset operations with Irish Water.

He told Newstalk Breakfast people need to think before they flush.

"Every week our local authority and contractor staff clear hundreds of blockages from sewers, pumping stations and so on.

"Most of these blockages are caused by items that were flushed down the toilet that should have been put in the bin.

"They include everything from wet wipes, face masks, cotton buds, dental floss, sanitary products, nappies even, plasters, food sometimes, cotton wool, condoms - the list goes on.

"All of these should be put in the bin, but many people flush them.

"They think once they've gone around the corner that they're gone - but they're not gone for long.

"They don't go with the flow, they grab at the pipe walls, they snag at the bends, they clump together, they capture bits of food and grease.

"They get lodged in the pipes and they build into a blockage.

"And all that material, together with the sewage itself, it clogs the pipes."

As well as affecting Irish Water's equipment, he says it affects other people too.

"It backs up into people's gardens and people's houses, it overflows to rivers and beaches.

"It causes pollution, it causes fish kills".

And he says people should follow the three 'Ps'.

"Essentially the simple message is pee, poo and paper into the toilet - and everything else into the bin".

'Food, cotton wool, condoms' - Nearly 1,500 tonnes of material flushed down toilets

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Main image: Drain covers with debris washed down the street in Spain in January 2018. Picture by: Mick Flynn / Alamy Stock Photo

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Face Masks Flushed Down Toilets Irish Water Nappies Pollution Toilets Tom Cuddy Wet Wipes

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