West Kelowna, Peachland and the Westbank First Nation residents are encouraged to think, before flushing products or pouring substances down their drains!
The regional district says it costs over $60,000 a year to remove clogs from sewer pipes.
Residents in those areas recently received an information card from the Regional District’s Westside Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant urging residents to ‘Don’t Rush, Think Before You Flush.’
Each day, the plant treats an average of 10 million litres of wastewater. Pausing before they put something down the drain will help protect the integrity of the plant’s biological treatment process and It’ll help prevent costly clogs and backups of pipe, said the regional district, which maintains hundreds of kilometers of sewer collection mains throughout the Westside communities.
“Food waste like fats, grease and oils (deep fryer oil, vegetable oil, cooking oil) can easily congeal and block pipes. As well, diapers, wet wipes, bandages, personal hygiene products and cotton swabs should be placed into the household garbage,” said communications officer Bruce Smith. “And hazardous waste materials like paints, solvents and other chemicals should be disposed of at the free household hazardous waste drop off at the Battery Doctors in Kelowna.”
“Unlike toilet paper” Smith added, “wet wipes, even those labeled flushable, don’t easily break down and once flushed, can cause sewage and septic overflows into homes, businesses and the environment. Our goal with this information program for Westside residents is to think about what they’re flushing or putting down the drain. There are proper disposal options for many of these materials. For example, unused or expired medications and prescription drugs should be returned to a pharmacy and residents can visit www.medicationsreturn.ca for more information.”
“Collected kitchen cooking oils, fats, grease and lards can be placed into a container and put into the trash, or taken for disposal in receptacles at the Westside Regional Waste Disposal and Recycling Centre in West Kelowna or the Glenmore landfill, in order to be recycled in a program with McLeod’s Byproducts of Armstrong.”
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