An ecological disaster! Thrown in toilets, cleaning wipes block pipes, water treatment plants and pollute the environment. At a time of the coronavirus epidemic, many Belgians use them to disinfect an office, doorknobs, a worktop, their hands… To these are added make-up remover wipes, baby wipe wipes… In any case, when they don’t finish not in the trash, they are dumped in the toilet bowl.
Never do! In Brussels, this is what is insisted, especially during this period, Damien De Keyser, director general of the Brussels Society for Water Management (SBGE), in charge of two treatment plants, and Laurence Bovy, general manager of Vivaqua, the Brussels intermunicipal company in charge of sewer management (1900 kilometers).
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Watch out for the next rains
“These wipes are an environmental disaster“, deplores Damien De Keyser who draws up an analysis of the Brussels situation in these times of coronavirus.”For the moment, we have not noticed an increase in the quantity of wipes arriving at treatment plants. This is certainly due to the fact that since it has not rained for several days, the flow of water from the sewers to our stations is slower. But we can imagine that during the next rains, we will be faced with a massive arrival of this type of waste.“
Concern: since the onset of the epidemic, intervention teams have been running in reduced numbers. At the SBGE, it started on March 10 with reorganized weekly shifts, without staff crossing…
Blocked technical systems
Because a wastewater treatment plant, these are several stages in the sanitation process. First, a screen to block large volumes of waste. “These range from large bricks, to wooden beams, to shopping carts … You have no idea what you can find“, laments the general manager.”The screens are actually large combs that will lift the waste before placing it on a carpet and then poured into a bucket.“
The pile of wipes stops there, but not always. “Partially disintegrated, they can continue on their way. They then end up in our settling ponds or in the sieves. And this blocks our engines, our technical systems …” We must then intervene! “It happens very regularly. These wipes are a real plague.“
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This is downstream when the water needs to be treated. Upstream, a clear reminder is given. “Fortunately, our sewer network is sloping, which allows permanent self-cleaning.“, reassures Laurence Bovy, of Vivaqua.”But the problem with wipes is very real.“The intermunicipal teams carry out around a hundred urgent interventions on average per year to unclog saturated pumps, not to mention the cluttered screens. Electromechanical equipment can also be impacted.”120 pieces of equipment repaired in 2017.“
On the packages, however, it is clearly stated
With the coronavirus, Vivaqua has interrupted its non-emergency procedures. So, for the moment, it is impossible to objectify the impact of a greater use of wipes by households. “However, on the packages of wipes, it is clearly stated that they cannot be thrown in the toilet. It is a legal provision“, Laurence Bovy reminds.”But some people certainly say to themselves that when they throw a wipe in a bowl, what happens afterwards no longer concerns them. The sewer is not a trash can, you can’t throw anything into it.“
In France, the Water Information Center sounded the alarm. A social media campaign has been launched. The message is clear. “Every day, women and men mobilize for our security and ensure the functioning of our essential services“, indicates the center.”Water professionals are one of them. They work on a daily basis to ensuring the continuity of the public water service which also includes the treatment of our wastewater.“
Three-quarters of the interventions linked to this scourge
Clean up wastewater, adds the center, is therefore a priority, a “essential service for public health, as for our environment. So let the water professionals focus on their core mission and make sure reduce the risk of clogging of pipes. Our toilets are not garbage cans, so let’s no longer throw our wipes in them!“ For the management of the center, interviewed by France 3, “three-quarters of the interventions of maintenance teams are linked to this scourge, which disrupts the activity of maintaining water and sanitation networks ” Two years ago, RTBF recalled the ecological damage caused by wipes.
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Manufacturers pretend to produce biodegradable wipes
However, there are so-called biodegradable wipes on the market. At SBGE, you don’t believe it at all. “These wipes are toxic waste. The manufacturers make us believe that they produce biodegradable wipes. But for that, it would take an enormous amount of time. A wipe doesn’t have time. In 24 hours, they go from the toilet to the treatment plant. Producers believe that some models are good for the environment. It’s wrong !“
“These wipes contain chemicals that spread into clean or used water”, adds Catherine Rolin of the France nature environment association, interviewed three years ago by the French daily Liberation. For wipes that still end up in the trash, “Since there is no sorting system for these products, it goes into household waste. Either they are incinerated, or they go to storage and therefore to the landfill, or we use them for compost, and therefore the products chemicals will spread in fields and soils. “
Disposable gloves
Finally, water treatment specialists also fear the arrival in the coming days of other types of waste related to the current period of containment. In France, Frédéric Haas, director of communications for Veolia Hauts-de-France (a hundred wastewater treatment plants), stresses that “wipes, just like cotton swabs or disposable gloves “, without forgetting the protective masks “represent 70% of emergency interventions against 15 to 30% usually. The rejection of wipes in the network already causes problems on a daily basis.”
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