Manx Utilities urges residents to stop flushing wet wipes

About 100 tonnes of material that does not break down is removed each year

People have been urged to stop flushing wet wipes and sanitary products down the toilet on Isle of Man to prevent sewer blockages.

About 100 tonnes of materials that do not break down after being flushed, known as rag, is removed from sewage works each year.

That is despite a 50% reduction in blockages over the past seven years.

A spokeswoman for Manx Utilities (MU) said the island's sewers were not designed to deal with the materials.

In areas without sewage treatment, the items "end up in the marine environment or washed up on our beaches", she added.

Instead residents have been encouraged to put them in the bin.

Sanitary products and wet wipes can create large blockages in sewers

Currently raw sewage is still pumped out to sea in the Peel and Laxey and Baldrine areas as plans for treatment works are progressed.

"Every day the island's sewers and sewage treatment works are inundated with items they are not equipped to deal with effectively," the MU spokeswoman said.

People have also been encouraged not to pour hot liquids such as fat, oil and grease down drains, as it could attach to pipework once cooled creating a blockage when couple with the rag, she added.

Supporting the 'Bin It - Don't Flush It' campaign, Bill Dale of litter picking group Beach Buddies said volunteers had noticed an improvement in recent years from the "very high numbers" of wet wipes and sanitary products previously found on Manx beaches.

That could "only be good for the sea and wildlife", he added.