14 DAY TRIAL // The water company in Scotland has initiated an awareness campaign aimed at persuading its customers to dispose of household waste responsibly. The necessity to launch such a campaign arouse after Scottish Water had to deal last year with more than 40,000 blockages to Scotland's drain and sewer network.
The company released an impressive list of objects that were found blocking sewers. According to the list published by Mirror, among the most bizarre things flushed down the toilet by people in this country are nappies, baby wipes, jeans, false teeth, pants, mobile phones, toys and even a snake.
Apparently, a large Winnie the Pooh teddy bear was one of the strangest items found in Scotland's sewers last year. The workers also discovered a pink bicycle, a fax machine, a gold fish and a deckchair dumped in various manholes around the cities.
However, probably the most unusual discovery was a dead, fully grown cow which somehow ended up in a storm tank at Gatehead. It is believed that the animal had fallen into an uncovered manhole.
The representatives of the water company say that 80% of the blockages were caused by too large objects put down toilets and sinks, highlighting that these issues generate costs of over £7 million (€8.5 million/ $11.7 million) a year.
“The waste water drain which runs from your house to the public sewer is usually only about four inches wide, which is less than the diameter of a DVD,” says Chris Wallace, director of communications at Scottish Water.
"This drain is designed to take only the used water from sinks, showers and baths and pee, poo and toilet paper from the toilet. Scottish Water believes the best way to tackle blocked drains and sewer flooding is to work with our customers to prevent blockages that can clog up the cycle in the first place," he adds.
The campaign kicked off by the firm consists of TV and radio commercials designed to raise awareness on these problems and to emphasize the importance of saving water by turning off taps while brushing your teeth or taking short showers instead of long baths.