Water bosses have welcomed a ban on wet wipes containing plastic but warned customers not to flush any type of wet wipe down the toilet.
They said that even so-called “flushable” wet wipes snag in the sewers and combine with fat, oil and grease (FOG) to cause blockages which can then flood homes and businesses.
Southern Water said: “Around 1 billion wet wipes are removed from our sewer network each year in the south east, according to latest estimations from Southern Water’s dedicated FOG and unflushables team.
“If 1 billion wet wipes were stretched out, they would reach a distance of more than 111,000 miles – that’s 4.5 times round the earth.
“Or that’s around 4,500 tonnes of wet wipes, the equivalent to the weight of 30 adult blue whales.”
In Sussex, an estimated 330 million wipes were removed from the sewage system in a year – about a third of the total tackled by Southern Water.
The company said: “Wet wipes have become one of the biggest causes of sewer blockages. Between 2020 and 2025, they were behind 59 per cent of the blockages cleared at Southern Water – more than 91,000 incidents.”
FOG and unflushables manager Matt Collins said: “We deal with around 30,000 blockages every year, and a lot of these could be avoided if wipes and other non-flushables were put in the bin instead.
“Unlike toilet paper, wet wipes – even those labelled ‘flushable’ – don’t break down quickly enough. Instead, they snag in pipes and combine with fats and debris to form fatbergs that block sewers and overwhelm the system.
“From spring next year, it will be illegal to sell wet wipes containing plastic. This is a really positive step and one many of us in the industry have been hoping for.
“But from what my team and I see day to day, it doesn’t go far enough to reflect the scale of the problem.”
The ban on wipes containing plastic comes into force next spring but Mr Collins warned that so-called “flushable” wipes could create just as big an issue and could still cause blockages and flooding.
Southern Water said: “The consequences of this can be severe: flooding in homes and businesses, significant clean-up costs and lasting environmental damage.
“Across the industry, dealing with these blockages costs an estimated £200 million every year.
“But the damage doesn’t stop underground. Wet wipes are also a major source of visible pollution, with surveys finding an average of 20 wipes per 100 metres of UK coastline.
“Only flush the three Ps – pee, paper and poo. Simple habits like using the bin can make a significant difference.
“Putting wipes in the bin is a small action that protects homes, reduces costs and safeguards our environment.”
