by John Prince
An initiative to try and stop people from dumping objects down the toilet that are harmful to the environment is being spearheaded by a local councillor.
Jane Denton is a Hornsea town councillor and part of the Plastic Free Hornsea group that came up with the idea some years ago.
The project takes a direct approach, distributing stickers that read, “Paper, Pee, Puke and Poo – Nothing else goes down the loo,” to remind residents exactly what can be safely flushed away.
It has been resurrected this year, and Jane has obtained permission through East Riding Council to put the stickers up in public conveniences.
Hornsea Town Council, local businesses and Yorkshire Water have also got behind it.
The aim is to reduce the amount of non-degradable waste put down toilets, and highlights the pollution of beaches and the danger to marine life caused by harmful waste.
The simple, light-hearted stickers are a friendly reminder with a serious message not to flush items like wet wipes, sanitary products, and other single-use plastics down them.
Since 2018, Hornsea has had accreditation as a plastic-free community from environmental group Surfers Against Sewage, which is displayed on signs and council stationary.
Jane said: “For a community to be given a plastic-free accreditation, you have to have a certain percentage of businesses that meet the criteria of reducing the amount of single-use plastic in their day-to-day business.
“We had no difficulty in getting our businesses to agree to that, and soon had more than we needed so the accreditation was given.
“One of these days we’re going to run out of our natural resources and we should be looking at reuse. Even recycling takes a vast amount of energy and manpower to organise it.
“We’ve got permission to put the stickers on all the public toilets in Hornsea, which is now well under way. They’re installed in the town hall and the pubs are already starting. We’ve also got the Floral Hall on board and the Community Cafe.”
Jane stressed that even products labelled ‘flushable’ or ‘biodegradable’ can cause severe blockages before they break down.
The project also aims to gently encourage people to use a small bin for such items, similar to practices in countries like Greece, which has narrower plumbing.
Jane added: “You only have to look at the beach after a high tide. With the wind in the right direction, the sea regurgitates all the rubbish that it doesn’t want in its stomach.
“If you’ve ever done a beach litter pick after foul weather, you will find all sorts of items on the beach. That’s not to say that they even originated in this country. They could have come from anywhere.
“The point is that they don’t degrade and you have to remove them. Little bits may erode off them in the same way that sea glass is made, and they just hang around for hundreds of years.
“We’re hoping to try and make people think: don’t put these things down the toilet.
“I hope that some people will notice and some of it will worm its way into the brain. It’s a strong message, but done in a more accessible way.
“We never say to people, “You will do this,” or “You will not do that.” We hope to make people think for themselves.”
The stickers are available from Jane, who will also make them available at Hornsea town hall.
The first run of stickers is clear and designed to go on a light background. The second print run will be solid white for toilet systems that are dark in colour.