Bin lorries have recently been given a new look as part of a collaborative campaign between Anglian Water and Castle Point Borough Council.

The new lorry designs feature the water company’s latest educational campaign Just Bin It, which aims to educate customers across the region about what can and can’t be flushed down toilets. 

Anglian Water’s Just Bin It campaign is designed to raise awareness of what goes into the sewers, helping customers understand what happens to their wastewater after they flush and how positive changes in the home can prevent blockages and flooding across the region. 

Earlier this year, Anglian Water began working in Canvey Island, after research identified that the area was a hotspot for blockages in the Anglian Water region. These blockages were caused by unflushable items such as wipes, sanitary products and cooking fats, oils and greases (FOGs).

In the Anglian Water region, 80% of sewer flooding incidents are caused by blockages, many of which are the result of unflushable items entering the sewer system. Last year alone, Anglian Water cleared over 35,000 blockages, removing tonnes of waste linked to flooding and pollution events.

Wipes are a major contributor to this problem. Around half a million wipes – that’s equivalent to 9,500 packets – are flushed into the East of England’s sewers every day. When flushed, wipes can mix with fats, oils, and other unflushable items, creating solid blockages because wipes don’t break down like toilet paper and can take over 100 years to decompose — even those labelled ‘flushable’ or ‘fine to flush’.

This latest collaborative campaign is part of the wider annual awareness month Unblocktober, which aims to improve the country’s drains, sewers, watercourses and seas by educating members of the public on what not to put down their sinks, loos and drains.

Connor Brailsford, Programme Manager at Anglian Water said: “Alongside Castle Point Borough Council and local partners Castle Point Association for Voluntary Services (CAVS), we have continued to raise awareness of what should and shouldn’t be flushed down toilets and plugholes in the local community.

“The results speak for themselves, as Canvey Island residents have already started to change their flushing behaviours and we’ve seen a reduction in blockages of 66% in the area, compared to this time last summer.” 

Despite some incredible results so far, the problem of unflushables causing blockages in the Canvey Island area still continues. 

Since mid-August, the deployment of sewer hedgehog devices in the network found 3,164 unflushable items, most of them wipes, in the local Canvey sewer network. If you laid these out end to end, it would be enough to wrap around the Canvey Eye six and a half times! 

Councillor Michael Fuller, Castle Point Borough Council’s Portfolio Holder for the Environment said: “We’re proud to support Anglian Water’s Just Bin It campaign and help bring this important message directly to our residents. By working together and making small changes at home, we can protect our environment, reduce flooding and keep our community cleaner and safer.”

Connor added: “We’re asking everyone – businesses and customers alike – to take a moment and think before they flush or pour. If it’s not pee, poo, or toilet paper, it belongs in the bin, not the drain. Together, through initiatives like this and everyday good habits, we can protect our homes, rivers, beaches, and the environment for future generations.”

Find out more information about Anglian Water’s Just Bin It campaign here.