Stop! Don’t flush this stuff
The city is always trying to hold down expenses and you can really help out your city sewer/waste water budget. Here’s a quick list of things you should toss in the trash—not flush Warning! This “ do not flush,“ list is a bit gross but important.
Disposable wipes: Flushed hiney wipes, baby wipes, body wipes, disinfectant wipes, cosmetic removing wipes, hand wipes, etc. have become big problems. Some cities have even banned their use. Just because the packaging may have the wording “flushable” does not mean that is what you should do with them. After all, a lot of things are flushable. Did your toddler ever flush your watch or one of his favorite stuffed toys? Instead, there should be a warning that these things will not biodegrade and will clog your sewers and waste water plant equipment.
Dental floss: It is just a tiny bit of string, but it gets caught on ridges which in turn trap more stuff until one day you complain about the toilet not flushing.
Contact lenses: They’re not biodegradable. Researchers have found them intact after a week of sitting in the bacteria that are found in the waste processing plant.
Lady/gentleman things: The sewer plant has a bar screen that pulls these things out of the raw waste water because they won’t biodegrade. Trash them!
Medications: Maybe there really could be truth to the story about all the fish in Lake Mead being sterile due to all the meds that come from the Las Vegas waste water plant. Sewer plants cannot filter meds out of water. Ask your pharmacy where to take unused drugs for disposal.
Kitty litter: It’s built to not biodegrade with kitty waste, and cat owners know that kitty waste is way more toxic that human waste. Bag it and trash it.
Fascial tissue, paper towels, and swabs: They are designed to hold coins when wet (TV ad) as well as not tear apart with hurricane sneezes or scrubbing the stove top. What makes you think they will go “poof” in the sewer? Flush only toilet paper.
Baby Diapers: I hope everyone knows this one!
Cigarette butts: See dental floss—not biodegradeable or I wouldn’t have to pick them up from the street.
Please help your city workers keep the mains clear and lower everyone’s plumbing costs. A clog in the main on Forrest Street requires the city to rent special equipment to dig about two stories deep. Then men have to go into the hole with pooh in it to clear the main. On top of the rental, it costs the city about 36-48 man hours to complete.
One last thing, please teach your children that flushed matchbox cars will not be returned through the faucet—you can ask me about that one! However, burying Nemo at “sea” is ok as long as he is no more that about two inches long.
Lou Ann Everett
Mayor
City of Canton
