Trash It. Don’t Flush It - DEP

Environmental Protection


Fatbergs

form when grease, wipes and other stuff get flushed, clogging pipes and draining wallets.

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Trash it. Don’t Flush it.

The Four P’s

FLUSH ’em! Poop, pee, puke, and toilet paper are the ONLY things to flush down the toilet.

Wet Wipes

TRASH ’em, even if they’re “flushable.”

Cooking Grease

TRASH it. Let it cool, then put it in a sealed container and throw it away.

Los Fatbergs

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But why?

Wet wipes—yes, even the ones that say “flushable,” condoms, feminine products, paper towels (and all the other stuff) that you flush down your toilet enters our sewer system and mixes with the grease that you have poured down your sink. This mix of personal hygiene products and grease can create “fatbergs” in our sewers.

Hold on. What are fatbergs?

Photo Credit: South West Water

The word “fatberg” combines the words “fat” and “iceberg” to describe the masses of congealed grease and personal hygiene products that have been found lingering in sewers around the world.

They are HUGE, DISGUSTING, DESTRUCTIVE, and COSTLY!

Don’t believe us? Read about the London fatberg and the Detroit fatberg.

Gross! But why is this my problem?

So, about 8.6 million people live in New York City and about 65 million tourists come to visit each year. Just imagine what happens when we all flush things down the toilet and pour things down the drain that we shouldn’t…

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Damage to Wastewater Treatment Plants

When wipes and other stuff aren’t busy making fatbergs in our sewers, they are wreaking havoc on our wastewater treatment plants! These materials don’t break down in the sewer system like toilet paper, so they arrive at our plants jamming mechanisms, clogging pumps, and breaking critical machinery.

More Flooding and Sewer Backups

Liquefied fat, oil, or grease that is poured down the sink can cling to the insides of pipes and sewers. Over time it can build up and block pipes completely. When wastewater can’t move freely through the sewer system due to these blockages, it can cause flooding in local neighborhoods and sewer backups in your home!

Sewer backups happen when raw sewage can’t flow through the sewer system and is forced back into your home. Wipes—yes, even “flushable” ones—may clear your toilet but they can get caught in your internal plumbing. Recent class action lawsuits against the “flushable wipes” industry have shown that the wipes can get caked together in in plumbing and septic systems. In New York City, it can cost between $10,000 and $15,000 to repair a sewer line.

Download our 2023 State of the Sewers Report

High Repair Costs

We spend approximately $18.8 MILLION a year to degrease the sewers, deal with damage caused by sewer backups, and repair our plant equipment that has been damaged by non-flushable items (like wet wipes) and transport those items to landfill. These costs may grow as people continue to pour grease down the sink and flush more items they shouldn’t. As these costs increase, it will also increase water and sewer rates. In other words, as our costs go up—so do yours!

Endangering the Environment

We manage the largest water and wastewater utility in the country. In addition to supplying clean drinking water to nearly 9 million New Yorkers, we maintain 7,500 miles of sewers that convey 1.3 BILLION gallons of wastewater to our 14 wastewater treatment plants every day. In order to protect the environment, wastewater undergoes an extensive treatment process. Once New York City’s wastewater is cleaned at our treatment plants, it is then discharged safely back into local waterways. The process is amazing! Clogged sewer pipes, sewer backups, and equipment failure at our wastewater treatment plants can impair this process and threaten our clean water goals.

Cool. So, what else can I do?

Thank you for asking! You can help us spread the word!

Download a copy of our “Trash It. Don’t Flush It.” flyer to hang up at your business or office.

Request copies of our “Trash It. Don’t Flush It.” flyer to be mailed to you so that you can hang them up in your business or office. (50 maximum)

Ok. But if it says “flushable” on the package, it’s still cool to flush it, right?

NO! When a product is labeled “flushable” it generally means that it will clear your toilet bowl. It does not mean it will definitely clear your pipes or break down in the sewer system or at a wastewater treatment plant. Water and wastewater utilities around the world have found a significant increase of wipes in their sewer pipes and at their plants.

Truly flushable items are ones that: break into small pieces quickly, are not buoyant, and only contain materials which will readily degrade in a range of natural environments (like paper, not plastic).

If you want to know more, watch this clip from Adam Ruins Everything.

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