Did you know that the wipes advertised as “flushable” are in fact not flushable? 

Reminder to Town of Collingwood residents to not flush sanitation wipes down the toilet.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been an increased use of cleaning products. Our Wastewater Treatment Operators have noticed single-use wipes, paper towels, gloves, and other items in the sanitary system. These items are clogging up Town sewers and pumps because they were never meant to go down the drain.

Wipes, paper towels, and gloves do not break down like toilet paper. They can cause damage to the Town sewer system and even cause a sewer back-up in homes. Not only does this cause damage to our Town’s infrastructure, but it is also putting our Wastewater Treatment Operators at risk. They need to shut down the piece of equipment, remove it from service, clean, repair, or replace it. This takes a lot of time, taking operators away from other essential duties and creates an added financial burden to the Town. This is not just the Town’s problem; these same items can clog the plumbing in your home, requiring expensive repairs. 

So where do you put these non-flushable items? Gloves and non-flushable wipes (baby wipes, Clorox, Lysol wipes) go in the garbage, while paper towels, and even fats, oils, and grease go in the green bin. Not down the drain. An easy way to remember what goes down the toilet is #1, #2 and TP (toilet paper) only.  

Please share the message “Only Flush Toilet Paper” so that we can keep our essential services up and running during the pandemic. 

Photo is taken from Collingwood's Wastewater Treatment Plant.