London might soon introduce sanitary bins in men’s loos to tackle drain-clogging wet wipes

While the female population has had access to sanitary bins in public loos since ages, it is often thought that men do not need this convenience. However, we forget that men use wet wipes too, and in the absence of any bins to dispose them off, they usually end up being flushed down the pot, clogging sewers.

Now if Greater London Assembly members have their way, sanitary bins are poised to be introduced into male conveniences too in an attempt to cut down on fatbergs in the capital’s sewers.

Across the UK, more than 11 billion wet wipes are used a year, up by a quarter from five years ago, and many people are unaware that they can’t be flushed. Also, sales of unflushable incontinence products, for men as well as women, has gone up by 50% to more than 1 billion a year as the population ages.

Therefore, the call for new bins is part of a concerted effort, led by the assembly’s environment committee, to make people more aware of the damage caused by wet wipes and other materials that cause blockages when they find their way into the sewers.

Read more here: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/aug/14/fight-fatbergs-mens-loos