When unacceptable items are flushed, the products become tangled in plumbing pipes and lead to blockages. The blockages can result in sewage backflow in homes – a serious health hazard – and costly repairs. If the unacceptable items make it past the home plumbing, they then can clog the borough sewer system, possibly resulting in sewage spilling into streets, basements, and local waterways.
DEP has issued guidelines of what should and shouldn’t be flushed. Since plumbing and sewer systems are similar around the country, the following rules should be applicable to our borough as well:
- Only flush human waste and toilet paper.
- Never flush wipes, even if the box is labeled as flushable.
- Never pour grease down kitchen sink drains or into toilets. Instead, seal grease in nonrecyclable containers and discard it with the regular garbage.
- Always put trash in the garbage. This includes:
- all wipes (baby, makeup, cleaning wipes, etc.)
- paper towels
- facials
- tampons
- menstrual pads
- floss
- disposable diapers
- cotton swabs
- condoms
