cityofalbany.net

What Not to Flush

Just because the package says "flushable" doesn't mean it's true. Many items marketed as disposable and/or flushable do NOT degrade like toilet paper, and they wind up clogging pipes, tangling pumps and causing messy sewer backups into streets, businesses and your home. This increases the City’s maintenance costs to fix pumps and clean City sewer pipes.

The drains that connect your home to the main sewer are only big enough to carry water, toilet paper and human waste - often no wider than 4 inches.

• Diapers (cloth, disposable, "flushable")
• Facial tissues, cotton balls, swabs and pads
• Cleaning wipes of ANY kind (baby wipes, disinfectant wipes, moist wipes,etc.)
• Toilet bowl scrub pads
• Swiffers
• Napkins (paper or cloth), paper towels
• Dental floss
• Egg shells, nutshells, and coffeegrounds
• Fats, oils, and greases
• Hair
• Sanitary napkins, tampons, condoms, or any non-organic material
• Vitamins, medicines or other pharmaceuticals
  (in Albany take unwanted medication to the Albany Police Department for proper disposal—it's FREE!)
• Wash cloths, towels, rags (any cloth item)
• Clothing
• Sheet plastic, or plastic of any kind
• Hazardous materials (bring to the Allied Waste Household Hazaradous Waste Roundup—it's FREE!)
• Bandages or bandaids
• Kitty litter

Is it Really Flushable?

The introduction of various "flushable" products into the wastewater collection system has changed the characteristics of sewage. While these products, such as handiwipes, facial tissues, feminine hygiene products, and other things like floss and cotton swabs, flush down the toilet, that doesn't mean that they won't cause problems further down the waste stream.

The impact of these products on the wastewater collection system was significant enough in Spokane, WA, that a video was recently created to educate the public on the impacts: http://www.spokanewastewater.org/WillItFlushVidDL.html

Last updated on Wednesday, February 08, 2012 01:04 PM