The Ruscombe Brook Action Group have launched a campaign locally with a new leaflet to raise awareness about our sewers (see photo). Although I designed the leaflet based on ideas from the group I can now see allsorts of things I would like to change...mind it took long enough to put that together......anyhow we have a 150 fat traps and money-off vouchers which we will be giving away at local schools and to houses along the Ruscombe brook. Below are the quotes given to local press - today I've started giving the fat traps out - more later this week and after Christmas.
Philip Booth, Secretary of the Action group that has campaigned against repeated incidents of raw sewage escaping into the Ruscombe brook, said: "We have found many reasons why local sewers have on occasions overflowed. One aspect that doesn't get enough publicity is that putting cooking fats down our drains can lead to the sewers clogging up. The brook group now have a 150 'fat traps', courtesy of Severn Trent water, to give away. Infact almost any container will do but we are using these traps to highlight the issue - the fats then can be disposed of in household rubbish or better still converted into fat balls for the birds to eat (i)."
Philip Booth said: "Cooking fats are not the only problem: many of the detergents we use in our homes are also high in fats and other ingredients that can harm wildlife (ii). We are very pleased to have had support from Ecotopia in Stroud High Street who stock many environmentally-friendly detergents - on showing one of our leaflets they will offer 15% off detergent-free laundry balls."
Philip Booth said: "We have to start to think differently about our sewers if we want to ensure our countryside is less polluted. Too often the toilet and sewers have been used for items like cotton buds, nappies, sanitary wear, dental floss, medicines and worse (iii). All these can lead to problems. We are hoping our campaign to 'Fight the Fat' will raise awareness of these issues."
Notes:
(i) In the case of fast food establishments and other large fat users RBAG would like to see the fats being collected and used as biofuels rather than flushed away to block our sewers.
(ii) Other problems with detergents include:
- Phosphate based detergents in particular are banned in some countries because they add nutrients to the waste stream which can cause eutrophication (or algae growth) in receiving waters.
- Chlorine products - bleaches - are another problematic waste stream. Most people probably live in the mistaken belief that such products could only have a beneficial effect on the drains, because they kill germs, but this is not the case. With so much organic material and ammonia in sewage, the chlorine products react with these rather than bacteria, which is why chlorine is never added in the early stages of sewage treatment. The problem is that these chlorine based products react with organic chemicals to produce chlorinated organic's - the same group of chemicals as the weedkiller DDT, PCB's and pesticides. They are not biodegradable, they persist in the environment and have a cumulative effect. They are not removed in the sewage treatment process. Many experts predict there will be a general presumption against the use of chlorine products in future, apart from as a residual biocide in the water supply.
(iii) Severn Trent Water is a founder member of the national 'Bag It and Bin It' group which campaigns to raise awareness of the problems that arise from flushing personal and disposable products down the toilet. Plastic or insoluble materials that are disposed of in this manner cause over two-thirds of all blockages of the sewerage system and add to the problems of sewage flowing out into rivers. The 'Bag It and Bin It' campaign aims to prevent sewage related debris from littering British riverbanks and coastlines by educating people not to flush their disposable products down the toilet - urging them instead to 'Bag It and Bin It'. Here are their suggestions:
Cotton buds, Ladies tights, Dental floss
- Dispose of these in the bin along with other household rubbish.
Tampons and applicators
- Wrap well and dispose of in the bin.
Condoms
- Wrap well and dispose of in the bin.
Incontinence pads
- Contact your Local Council or District Nurse Service and request inclusion in what is commonly known as the 'yellow bag' scheme. This scheme delivers and collects yellow bags specifically designed for the safe disposal of incontinence pads.
Sanitary towels
- Special bags for sanitary protection items are available from pharmacies.
Bandages & plasters
- Wrap well and dispose of in the bin.
Disposable nappies
- Wrap well and dispose of in the bin. Before doing so you could flush any human waste down the toilet - but not the nappy itself.
Razors and blades
- Put the used blade inside a rigid container, which you are also throwing into the dustbin. Razor blades should never be flushed down the toilet.
Medicines
- Any unwanted or unused medicines should be returned to your local pharmacy for safe disposal. Do not dispose of medicines with other household waste. Always remember to keep all medicines out of the reach of children.
No comments:
Post a Comment