Mayor of Carrickfergus Launches Bag It and Bin It Campaign

02 April 2010 8:22

A giant loo roll is the focus of a major campaign currently being run by NI Water in the Carrickfergus area to raise awareness of its ‘Bag it and Bin It’ message.

The campaign is designed to raise awareness of the dangers of flushing inappropriate items down the toilet. NI Water is asking customers to spread this message and keep the sewers in the area clean and blockage free.

Our sewerage system is only designed to cope with human waste and small volumes of toilet roll. Other items such as cotton buds, nappies, tampons and baby wipes, which people flush down the toilet, do not break up and usually clump together to form a ball of rags.

Gavin McCready explains:

“Many people genuinely don’t realise the damage they are doing, not only to their own internal pipes, but also to the sewerage system they share with their neighbours. It is only when faced with blocked drains and out of sewer flooding that they realise those ‘harmless wipes’ are in fact creating chaos!

“NI Water is playing an active role in educating the public on the benefits of disposing their waste in a bin, however, we need the support of the public to make this message a reality.

“The cost of the damage caused to our sewerage system by inappropriate flushing and dumping in drains is also a major factor. NI Water spends in the region of £1.7 million per year clearing blocked drains, money which could be spent improving services to the local community.”

Patricia McKinney, Mayor of Carrickfergus, who attended the launch comments:

“This is an excellent example of local representatives and NI Water working with and for the people. By raising awareness of the problems of inappropriate flushing and dumping among residents in Carrickfergus, we can dramatically reduce the amount of rubbish flushed into the sewerage system.”

A further problem faced by NI Water is how households and businesses dispose of fat, oil and grease, which also causes major blockages in the sewerage system.

Why not view the damage done to sewers first hand by accessing the following at YouTube video at www.youtube.com/northernirelandwater#play/all/uploads-all/0/UCutKlVK3UY
and give us your comments.



Further information on NI Water’s ‘Bag it and Bin it’ campaign can be found on our website, www.niwater.com, where a leaflet is available for download.