‘Think Before You Flush’ Campaign Launched In Tralee

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At the launch of the ‘Think Before You Flush’ campaign were, in front; young Iseult and Kate with Aisling Buckley of Irish Water, Anne Marie Fuller and Susan Vickers. at back; Anluan Dunne, Martha Farrell, Patrick Falvey, Mary Dolan, Joan O’Regan,  Mohamed Kareem, Sylvia Thompson and Kevin Power. Photo by Dermot Crean

CLEAN Coasts and Irish Water are asking the people of Tralee to “Think Before You Flush”.

The Think Before You Flush campaign aims to highlight the problems caused by flushing inappropriate items, such as wipes, down the toilet.

This can cause blockages in homes, the wastewater infrastructure or end up on the beach as marine litter. The campaign is run by Clean Coasts in partnership with Irish Water and is currently in its 4th year.

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Each year there are regional campaigns in chosen cities, towns and villages across Ireland and this week in the Wetlands Centre in Tralee the campaign will be attending the Clean Coasts Roadshow Kerry Event 2020 on this Sunday, February 22 from 11.30am to 1pm.

The 2019/20 regional campaigns are based in Mallow, Tralee, Sligo town, Bundoran, Dundalk and Wicklow town.

In each location, the campaign will be running workshops, events and clean ups throughout the year, working with the local community, businesses and schools.

The campaign found that 30% of people are flushing items they should bin, such as wipes and cotton buds, down the toilet with detrimental effects on the wastewater network and the environment. The goal of the campaign is to encourage people to always #thinkb4uflush

Speaking about the campaign Elaine Doyle, Clean Coasts Officer said: “The Think Before You Flush campaign was set up as a result of finding sewage related waste such as wipes on Irish beaches. 80% of marine litter originates from inland sources. Something as simple as a wipe can travel from a flushed toilet to the ocean and finally the beach possibly causing blockages and damage to marine life as it makes its journey. We are delighted to partner with Irish Water to spread this important message. Simply put a bin in your bathroom and always #thinkb4uflush”.

Speaking about the size and scale of the problem associated with flushing the wrong things down the toilet, Colm Ward, Irish Water said:

”Every day people flush thousands of sanitary items such as wet wipes and cotton bud sticks down the toilet instead of simply putting them in the bin. This causes blockages in our network, pumping stations and wastewater treatment plants. These items can also end up on our beaches. We removed more than 8,000 reported blockages from the sewer network last year, dealt with thousands of other blockages during planned work and we have also removed thousands of tonnes of ragging from wastewater treatment plants around the country. We are delighted to work in partnership with Clean Coasts to deliver this important campaign. Placing a bin in the bathroom and disposing of wet wipes and other sanitary items appropriately has a hugely positive impact on the network and the environment.”

More information about the Think Before You Flush campaign can be found athttp://thinkbeforeyouflush.org

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