There are sure consequences to live in an age of convenience . Plastic straw are filling up landfill , prompting widespreadbansand limitation on their distribution . Now , New York City is turning itsattentionto an even more wicked bane : fatbergs .
A fatberg is a abhorrent coagulation of thing you should n’t flush down the can , like Viscount St. Albans grease and so - called “ flushable ” sanitary wipes . They can be immense : One London fatberggrewto be 143 tons , becoming acautionary talefor the relief of the man .
These wandering chunk of waste travel in sewer , creating significant blockage . The fatbergs can force untreated water system into clean water sources and get backups in residential plumbing .
With New York City currently spending $ 20 million per year on top these blockages , officials have decided to mount a public drive monish residents against some of their bad plumbery habits . They have a newwebsiteadmonishing people to abide by the “ Four Ps ” of flush — dope , pee , git and ( throne ) paper are fine , while grease and pixilated wipe are not . Those should be thrown in the garbage .
While most people do n’t have a problem directing their vomit and feces into a toilet without write program line , there ’s still a widely held belief that wet wipe are secure to sluice . This is potential due to company labeling them “ flushable ” on packaging , though the city ’s anti - fatberg site importune that “ flushable ” just means they wo n’t clog a toilet . Once it ’s in the gutter organization and mingles with grease , the wipe begin to contribute to a public health problem . The metropolis removed almost 53,000 tons of junk from sewerage treatment screens in 2017 . Most of it consisted of the wipes .
With 8.6 million people in New York creating a substantial amount of waste , it ’s easy to see why city management feel an itch to hold in the problem . But no matter where you be , it ’s a respectable estimate to banish charge to somatic fluids and commode paper only . Cooking creese should be allowed to chill , then put in a container and thrown out .
[ h / tSlate ]
