WATCH: Wet wipes causing 'thousands of sewer blockages' every year in NI
The flushing of wet wipes is leading to thousands of blockages in Northern Ireland's sewers every year.
Last updated 13th Nov 2018
The latest figures available show in the two years leading up to 2016, there were around 5,500 blockages.
Those incidents cost around £800,000 to clear.
The bunching together of wet wipes, some of which are flushable, can often contribute to phenomenons known as 'fatbergs', along with other items.
Even without that though, the wipes on their own can end up tangling together and proving extremely resistant to budging from sewer gates.
Mark Consiglia is the Waste Water Assets Manager for NI Water for the East.
"We recommend that there should only be three things put down the toilet," he said.
"That's the three Ps - pee, poo and paper.
"Anything else should be going in the bin."
As for those wipes that are marketed as suitable for flushing, Mark confirmed they are indeed flushable.
"That's correct they are flushable," he said.
"The difficulty is though they don't break down quick enough.
"So when they join all the other wipes in the system, that's when the problems start."
Wipes aren't the only item that have caused trouble for the staff at NI Water either, with a full list of the strange items workers have come across below:
- Toys
- Phones
- Bank cards
- Wallets
- Christmas tree
- School bell
- Scooter
- Baby car seat
- Winnie the Pooh teddy bear
It's estimated around 93% of blockages across UK sewers every year are caused by wet wipes.