During the holidays, not only our stomachs face challenges, but also sewage systems - during this period, a significantly larger amount of food residues, fats, coffee grounds, hygiene products, etc. enter the sewers. In total, as much waste as the weight of approximately 50 passenger cars is cleaned from sewage in a month. Water management experts notice that people throw not only our usual waste into the sewers, but also much more interesting things - sometimes it's even hard to believe your eyes.
"The journey of every drop of water begins with responsible consumption and ends with correct waste management." During the festive period, when we work more intensively in the kitchen, it is especially important to remember that inappropriate waste entering the sewers can pose a threat not only to the sewage system, but also to the entire water cycle. Therefore, good habits contribute to the preservation of a clean environment", says Viktoras Matonis, director of the Production Department of the largest water management company in Lithuania, Vilniaus Vandenys.
The company mechanically cleans about 74 tons of various large wastes, mostly diapers and hygiene items, as well as 221 tons of sand and 4,7 tons of grease per month. From the home of every citizen of Vilnius to the largest Vilnius sewage treatment plant in Lithuania, waste together with sewage travels from 2 hours to 2 days on average.
A study commissioned by "Vilniaus vandenų" company "Spinter research" revealed that even 41 percent residents pour cooking oil and other fats into the sewage system. About a third of the respondents admitted to throwing spoiled or outdated food products (32%) and hair (32%) into the sewer. A quarter of respondents (24%) throw paper towels into the sewage system.
The number of finds in sewage increases during the holidays
V. Matonis says that improperly thrown waste by residents reaches the company's wastewater treatment systems throughout the year, but during major holidays, it not only increases significantly, but also changes its composition.
"A lot of waste goes down the drain during the Christmas period. Among the most common at the moment are tangerine peels, people still flush them down the toilet instead of throwing them in the trash. Paper napkins, which are used more often during the holiday period, end up in sewage systems, unlike toilet paper, they do not dissolve in water," notes the company's representative.
According to V. Matonis, all this poses challenges to sewage systems, increases the risk of their clogging and complicates the work of treatment facilities. "In the case of improper waste management, people should first of all think about the problems they may have themselves as a result of this - clogged sinks, toilets and even building pipes, which will have to be cleaned by specialists and incur significant costs," he says.
According to "Vilniaus Vandenų", this year, before the end of the year, 1,55 thousand have already been recorded due to irresponsibly dumped waste into the sewage system. pipeline blockages of various severity.
Waste management costs about 185 thousand. euros
Next to everyday waste, unexpected finds are sometimes found in sewage.
"Today, strange finds are much less common, because many treatment plants are equipped with waste shredders. However, there have been interesting cases in the past, for example, once specialists had to remove even 25 meters of carpet from the systems. Of course, such things do not enter the system through the toilet, they are thrown into sewers or something like that. Unfortunately, we have to admit that waste is still disposed of in such ways," V. Matonis teaches.
According to the representative of "Vilniaus vandenų", all collected waste is handed over to waste management companies - their disposal costs the company about 185 thousand. euros per year.
