Drip Feed: Wipe Out the Sewer Monsters

Wipe Out the Sewer Monsters 👻

What do a bright yellow space hopper, dozens of bread baskets, wet wipes and a fatberg have in common? They have all caused trouble in places they should never have reached: our sewers.

In this Halloween edition of Drip Feed, host Georgie Reid meets Catherine Gemmell from the Marine Conservation Society, who works on marine litter policy, and Scottish Water’s Ross Graham, whose work spans the sewer network through to treatment. Together, they reveal the scary nightmares lurking below our streets, how everyday items become sewer monsters and the simple steps we can all take to stop feeding them.

The strangest things lurking underground 🔦

Ross has seen plenty of unusual finds, including frogs, goldfish and a fully inflated space hopper emerging from a choked manhole. He also recalls a manhole packed with around 35 to 40 bread baskets Jenga-style! These eye-catching examples make a serious point: our sewers are designed to carry wastewater, not rubbish.

👉 Discover what causes blocked drains and sewers 

Why wipes are a monster problem 🚽

Wet wipes and similar products do not break down like toilet paper. In the episode, Georgie puts this to the test by shaking a wet wipe and toilet paper in separate bottles of water. The toilet paper quickly disintegrates. The wipe stays intact.
That strength may be useful when a wipe is being used, but it creates problems when wipes are flushed. They can snag, collect and combine with other waste, contributing to blockages that can affect homes, streets, treatment equipment and the environment. Not to mention the millions it costs to fix. Even products labelled “flushable” should go in the bin. The simple rule is to flush only the 3Ps: pee, poo and toilet paper.

👉 Check the Scottish Water bathroom checklist 

From kitchen sink to fatberg 🍳

The monsters do not only lurk in the bathroom. Fats, oils and grease, including residues from cooking, sauces, soups and milk products, may be liquid when they disappear down the sink. As they cool in pipes, they thicken and congeal. Add wipes or other debris and the result can become a hard, concrete-like fatberg.
If you can't reuse leftover fat, oil or grease, let it cool and scrape or wipe it into the appropriate food waste or general waste, following your local council guidance. Giving plates and pans a quick scrape or wipe before washing also helps keep food and grease out of drains.

👉 See the Scottish Water kitchen checklist 

From source to sea 🌊

Catherine explains how sewage-related debris, including wipes and sanitary products, can reach beaches and add to plastic pollution. Through Beachwatch, Marine Conservation Society volunteers clean and survey stretches of coastline, creating evidence that helps organisations understand the problem and campaign for change.
The connection is closer than it may seem: what goes down a toilet or sink can put pressure on the whole wastewater system. As Catherine puts it in the episode, the sea starts at your sink and toilet. Keeping the wrong things out at source is one of the easiest ways to protect sewers and the environment.

👉 Find out how Nature Calls helps protect the environment 

Key takeaways ✅

• 🚽 Only flush the 3Ps: pee, poo and toilet paper. Put wipes, period products, cotton buds, contact lenses and other bathroom waste in the bin.
• 🗑️ Keep a bin in the bathroom so doing the right thing is quick and easy.
• 🍳 Never pour fats, oils or grease down sinks or drains. Let them cool, then reuse, recycle or bin them in line with local guidance.
• 🌊 Small actions add up. Being kind to our sewers helps reduce blockages, flooding, treatment problems and litter reaching the environment.

👉 Explore the Nature Calls campaign 

Watch or listen 🎧

Watch or listen to Drip Feed: Wipe Out the Sewer Monsters on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts
Drip Feed is Scottish Water’s podcast, bringing you water talk straight from the source.

Useful links 🔗

• Discover the Scottish Water Nature Calls campaign 
• Learn about Marine Conservation Society Beachwatch 
• Explore Marine Conservation Society action on plastic pollution