Newcastle Hospitals, in partnership with Northumbrian Water, are urging people to help save the NHS hundreds of thousands a year by making one simple change: Bin the wipe.
More and more drain blockages are caused by wipes being flushed down hospital toilets at the RVI and Freeman hospitals.
Over the last 3 years, at the Royal Victoria Infirmary there were over 2,500 blockages in the New Victoria Wing and over 3,000 across the rest of the hospital.
This figure grows when you factor the trust’s other hospital sites, costing money which could be spent on healthcare services.
Thomas Rutherford, senior engineering manager at Newcastle Hospitals added: “Flushing any wipes down the toilet can cause huge problems to our services and departments – plus it’s bad for the environment. Our toilets and sewer pipes are not designed for wipes.
“When a major blockage is identified, we often need to hire professional services to clear the blockages, repair the damage and clean the environment which can be costly and can impact on services.
“We really need your help and you can make a massive difference by binning wipes.”
Wet wipes are a major cause of sewer blockages that damage properties, flood roads and cost £200 million a year in the UK alone. This includes moist toilet tissues certified as ‘fine to flush’ which was redacted by Water UK in 2024.
Period products also contain a lot of plastic and should not be flushed.
Newcastle Hospitals have added sanitary waste bins in toilets with information advising where to dispose of used wipes.
Mark Wood, sewerage team leader at Northumbrian Water said: “More than 60% of the blockages in the north east are caused by wipes, and this is one of the biggest challenges that our teams face.
“Our Bin the Wipe campaign is all about raising awareness of how they settle or catch in pipes and create blockages, which can ultimately cause waste to back up into people’s homes or to be forced out into the environment.
“We are appealing for customers or patients to help our teams by being more mindful when using wipes and to make one simple change – to Bin The Wipe. Please put it in the bin, not down the loo – even if the packaging claims to be flushable.”
Find out more about the damage wipes can do to your area and the work Northumbria Water are doing to make sure you Bin the Wipe.
