What Not to Flush…

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There are things that just shouldn’t be tossed in the toilet.

Here’s what you shouldn’t toss down the drain:

  • Cooking grease and oil will congeal and build up to plug pipes causing backups. Grease buildup also occurs at pumping stations and can cause failures of the pump control systems and plugging. Residents should dispose of small amounts of fat, oil and grease in a sealed container with household trash.
  • Unused medications and pharmaceuticals, pesticides and herbicides, and other toxic wastes. Unused personal care products can go in the trash; household hazardous or toxic waste should be saved for “Household Hazardous Waste Day”.
  • Flammable substances or petroleum waste could catch fire or explode. 
  • We have had problems with people that are using disposable wipes and then flushing them down the toilet. The wipes will flush but they are not bio-degradable so they don’t break down easily and they don’t grind up in the grinder pumps. We have had them get stuck in the pumps and in the piping coming from the pump. Please don’t flush them down the toilet. Instead, put them in the trash.
  • Plastic materials and other solid objects can plug up the system. Again, these should go in the trash.

Contact the Wastewater Department at (207) 967-2245, if you have any questions about a particular waste product.