Tameside MP Andrew Gwynne has described the flushing of wet wipes into the sewage system as them washing up on riverbanks as an horrific scene from a Nightmare Before Christmas
During a House of Commons debate today the MP for Denton and Reddish said :
“When there are overflow discharges into rivers from water treatment works these wet wipes aren’t filtered out, and as the secretary of the Friends of the Tame Valley, and she will know that the River Tame has a very high concentration of microplastics, it is a massive concern that the trees along the riverbank are littered with wet wipes.
He challenged Environment Minister Rebecca Pow with the following question
“So, what is she doing not just to get the message out not to flush wet wipes down the toilet, but also to clean up our riverbanks so that they don’t look like a horrific scene from a Nightmare Before Christmas?”
To which she replied
“I can only agree with him that it is revolting and these wet wipes do go down the – that’s why we get these more frequently than we need overflows of sewage … because they are being blocked by wet wipes.“
