Make wet wipe producers pay for polluting England’s waterways, says report | Pollution

The author of a government investigation to reform the industry says that wet wiping manufacturers should be blamed to remove pollution from the UK’s waterways.

Sewerage has been a critical factor in the destructive pollution of our waterways, but other sources of pollution include modern production by -products such as consumer products such as germ, wet handkerchiefs and aspfa (“forever chemicals”), as well as fertilizers and pesticides from farming. Most of them are associated with harmful effects on human health and natural environment.

Sir Jon Cunliffe, a former bank of the British Governor, said that it would be to implement the principle of “pollutant payment”, which he contributed to the abolition of the company behind pollution. “The alternative is that everyone pays through their bills, and the question should spread it among everyone, or should we pass through a pollutant payment route? I think, really, we should look at these routes.”

Cunlife was a turning point for the water industry after publishing a major review of how to clean up England’s filthy rivers and seas. The WAT regulator will be removed, the government promised and new, powerful, super regulator was created to keep water companies better.

Campaigns welcomed most of the suggestions that terminated the self -monitoring of water companies that voluntarily publish information about how much sewage they have thrown. Citizen scientists have argued that this system has been open to count for years and that they have been trying to shed light on the real human waste in the waterways: sewage spills under new offers will automatically be published online.

But there are those who think this is a kidnapped opportunity. Environmental Secretary Steve Reed, He took the nationalization out of the scope And he also told Cunliffe not to think of more radical approaches, such as converting companies into non -profit -free. This is, although water companies are as bad as the evacuation of the sewage that makes the people anger.

So, what would be the idea that the pollutants should pay some of the worst pollutants such as wet wipes and PFAs on our water roads? “One of the best ways to cope with things that don’t enter our rivers is not to let him enter the sewage in the first place, Cun said Cunliffe.

Orum I am a little sympathized with water companies, ”he said,“ The drinking water system is closed and no one can touch it unless it is authorized. Wastewater system is open. Everyone can put something in the toilet and then I saw that he took the wet wiper from the sewage system. ”

Water companies claim that wet wipes, which shed germs and also turn into large blockages, are the main cause of sewage pollution. John Pencud, General Manager of Southern Water, said that “the majority of wastewater pollution was caused by the washing of wet handkerchiefs, oils, oils and greas toilets and sinks, and called for banning wet wipes.

The EU introduces Quaternery treatment, a more advanced method than used in the UK. This has strong filters that remove chemicals from the water source, but it is expensive, so the block allows the producers of these chemicals to pay a tax to be used to create these treatment facilities later. Manufacturers will be asked to meet at least 80% of the costs associated with sewage treatment upgrades required to remove these substances from waste water.

Cunliffe thinks that England can look at adopting a similar approach to wet handkerchiefs; As a side effect, this makes the plastic wet wipes more expensive, which determines their use. The report proposed to adopt the EU laws in the UK and to investigate the prevalence and effect of these germs on the surrounding and human health.

In this way, “Not paying the water bill paying to remove it, but the people who make and buy the products… PFAs and similar quaternary treatment will require treatment and there are three sewage treatment. It will be expensive to build another one.” The question is whether the user or the pollier will pay.

A Water UK spokesman: “The removal of PFAs from Forever Chemicals’ and other germsolants is a great challenge because the current sewage technology has never been designed to cope with them.