Last reviewed: 20.12.2011 - 11.34am
'Bin it - don't block it' is our campaign to educate people about 'sewer abuse' - which is putting anything other than human waste or toilet tissue down drains.
The biggest no-no is pouring cooking fat down the sink as it sets hard, forming 'fatberg' blockages. This prevents sewage from flowing and can cause it to back up, especially when other unsuitable products such as wet wipes and sanitary items mix with the fat, leading to waste backing up into homes and streets, and having a devastating impact on the environment.
We clear around 55,000 blockages from our sewers each year at a cost of £12m and 7,000 customers suffer from sewer flooding in their homes and gardens – a truly miserable experience.
To flush, or not to flush?
The drains connected to your home were not designed to cope with anything other than wastewater, toilet tissue and human waste.
Even the products labelled 'flushable' do not break down in the sewer. Flushing them could block your internal plumbing or the main sewer, causing sewage to back-up.
Our message is simple, if it's not water, toilet tissue or poo, please... bin it - don't block it.
What we're doing to help
Thousands of unsuitable products are washed down the drain each year contributing to around 55,000 blockages across our supply area.
This is made worse by confusing and misleading product labelling, which encourages customers to flush unsuitable items, particularly toddler wipes and sanitary items. Although these items disappear when you flush your loo, they can take a number of years to break down. There are currently no restrictions in place to prevent these products being sold as 'flushable'.
The only product to pass water industry 'flushability' tests so far is toilet paper. Manufacturers have their own tests, which are more lenient resulting in a greater number of products being labelled 'flushable'.
To resolve this, the water industry and manufacturers are working together to develop a shared protocol. This project is also hoping to influence product labelling.
In this section
Singing Sewermen: Christmas carol 2011
Watch our hardy east London sewermen singing their own reworded version of the carol 'Deck the Halls' to stop people washing drain-blocking turkey fat down the sink this Christmas.
Celebrity flushers
Find out which celebrities have explored the murky world beneath the capital's streets.
Meet the flushers
Being a sewer flusher is not a job for the faint-hearted. Meet the men who clean up what gets flushed.
Do you know what to flush?
Please complete this short survey to help us understand what you think is, and isn't acceptable to flush down your toilet or pour down your drains.
Spotted!
London's sewers happen to be an unusual tourist attraction for a number of celebrities, eager to explore the murky world beneath the capital's streets.
Do you know what to flush?
Complete our short survey to help us understand what you think is, and isn't acceptable to flush down your toilet or pour down your drains.
Meet the flushers
Being a sewer flusher is not a job for the faint-hearted. Meet the men who clean up what gets flushed.
Sewerman's Log
Find out what it's like to work in London's sewers with the Sewerman's Log - a blog written by our sewer flusher Danny Brackley.
