Preventing sewer blockages: bin wet wipes

A behavioural campaign in North East England used timely reminders after sewer floods to nudge households into disposing of wet wipes—cutting blockages by 60%.

What unsustainable behaviour needs to change:

Wet wipes have become ubiquitous in modern households, marketed for various uses from personal hygiene to cleaning tasks. However, their convenience leads to a significant environmental issue: many individuals flush used wipes down the toilet, mistakenly believing they are similar to toilet paper.

This misconception contributes to severe sewer blockages, commonly known as „fatbergs,“ which are solidified masses of fat, oil, grease, and non-biodegradable materials. These blockages cause sewage overflows, environmental contamination, and cost water companies millions in annual maintenance and repairs.

Changing this deeply ingrained habit, especially in the privacy of one’s bathroom, poses a considerable challenge.

The Green Nudge:

Behaviour Change, in partnership with Northumbrian Water Group (NWG), conducted research revealing that bathrooms are the primary location for wet wipe usage, predominantly for make-up removal and hand cleaning. Notably, over half of households lacked a bathroom bin, making flushing a convenient disposal method. Recognizing that eliminating wet wipe use was impractical, the focus shifted to promoting proper disposal.

Two behavioural interventions were developed:

The Big Bin Giveaway: This initiative involved distributing desirable bathroom bins to households without them, making it easier for residents to dispose of wipes correctly and spark community conversations.
Blockages as a Moment of Change: This strategy capitalized on recent local sewage blockages and sewer floods. Following these incidents, the team engaged affected households with salient messages about the personal consequences of improper disposal. This included on-street signage, face-to-face outreach, and impactful letters featuring visuals of the specific blockages caused by wipes in their area.

The result: These interventions led to a significant reduction in flushed wipes by over 60% in pilot areas, with sustained results. The success has prompted the rollout of these strategies to more than 40 hotspot areas, covering over 170,000 homes.

Do you know of any other nudges that help keep unwanted waste out of our wastewater systems? Feel free to comment or get in touch: hello@green-nudges.com

From Honica Sharma, Senior Behavioural Intervention Designer at Behaviour Change. Behaviour Change is a not-for-profit behavioural science consultancy collaborating with businesses, charities, government, and foundations. They design and test behavioural interventions on the ground, aiming to create positive social and environmental impacts.

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