World News for Students of English

11-01-2024 15:00

Wet wipes have become commonplace in our homes, whether we use them to wipe off our make-up or wipe down the sink, but many wet wipes end up down the loo and this could be a problem.

When wet wipes go down the sewer, they combine with fats, oils, and greases and they form hard fatbergs that cause blockages. In Britain, 80% of blockages come from wet wipes and other un-flushable items. And this of course comes at a cost – 88 million pounds a year is shared between the British water companies and the taxpayers to remove the blockages.

Some wet wipes are labelled as flushable, but they really are not. English water companies and charities are calling for all wet wipes to be labelled “do not flush”. If you use wet wipes, it is best to put them in the bin.

Difficult words: sewer (an underground channel which carries away dirty water), grease (a thick oil or animal fat), fatberg (the combination of fats and wet wipes in the sewer systems).

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