Don’t flush wipes into the pipes!

Whitby, Ontario  –

The Regional Municipality of Durham, Works Departmentwould like to remind residents that bathroom wipes—which are marketed as an alternative to toilet paper and advertised as ?ushable—should be disposed of in the garbage, rather than being flushed down the toilet. Baby wipes, mopping wipes and sanitizing cleaning wipes should also be disposed of in the garbage only.

The Region’s sanitary sewer system is not designed to dispose of anything beyond human waste, toilet paper and wastewater. Wipes do not break down the way toilet paper does and can clump together, causing costly blockages and backups in the Region’s sewer system—which could result in flooding in your home or business.

To learn more about the problem of wipes in the sewer system, visit durham.ca/ThinkBeforeYouFlush. For more information about proper waste disposal, visit durham.ca/KnowBeforeYouThrow.

To view Durham’s Sewer Use By-law No. 55-2013, which outlines speci?c practices for the use of sanitary and storm sewers, please visit durham.ca/SewerUseBylaw.

- 30 -

For more information, please contact Corporate Communications.