It's time to think about helping the planet by changing our habits

Did you know that every year 11 million tonnes of plastic are dumped into the ocean and around 1.8 billion cotton buds are flushed down our toilets each year?

Unblocktober runs for the month of October and aims to help make small changes to our behaviour that can make a big difference to our environment.

Do you pour or flush any of the following down your drains?

Pouring or flushing any of the items below down your drains not only damages the environment, but can damage your pipes too, causing potentially costly problems.

• Cooking oil: around 48% of the nation pour fats, grease and/or oils down their drains

• Anything containing plastic: wrappers, contact lenses, dental floss, disposable gloves and more will all cause problems if flushed

• Food: even crumbs can cause problems if poured down your kitchen sink!

• Wet wipes: 300,000 blockages are caused by wet wipes each year

The problem with pouring oils, grease and fat down the drain

The chances are, when you pour these down your kitchen sink, they’re in liquid form but these can then solidify in pipes, drains and our sewage system and over time cause wastewater to back up in the sewers. According to Southern Water, more than 3,000 homes flood each year due to these blockages and around £90 million is spent every year clearing them.

What to do with left-over oil, grease or fat

• Fat and oil left in cooking trays or saucepans can be collected in a container and left to cool. Once solidified this can be thrown into the bin

• Wipe plates and pans with kitchen roll before you wash them in the sink (or pop them in the dishwasher)

• If you have left over suet or lard, you could even make this into your own DIY bird feed fat balls

Other tips

• Look out for the ‘Fine to Flush’ symbol on wet wipe packaging. These are safe to flush, but if they don’t have the symbol, they’ll need to go in the bin

• Invest in sink strainers: these act as a screen to let water through into your drainage system but nothing larger

• Buy a GUPPYFRIEND washing bag: when you wash synthetic clothing, such as fleeces, tiny bits of plastic (microfibers) are released into your washing machine and then out through your pipes. This bag can prevent fibre shedding, protect your home and reduce microfiber pollution

Signs of a blocked drain

Knowing the signs of a blocked drain are helpful to know, so you can avoid a costly flood:

• Your bath, sink or shower are slow to drain

• They don’t drain at all

• Strange gurgling noises

• Bad smells or waste water backing up into your bath, shower or sink

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