Saint John city council is asking residents to ignore the marketing on disposable wipe products.
Many cleaning wipes include the word flushable on the packaging, but Saint John Water says the products are clogging up the pipes.
Commissioner Brent McGovern says the wipes are giving them some trouble.
“(A few weeks ago) in Saint John, we had three sewer backups that caused damage to properties, and also resulted in the expenditure of overtime,” McGovern said.
Disposable wipes, which have seen a surge in popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic, are also wreaking havoc on sewage systems around the world.
McGovern says it isn’t just the city that has seen costs go up as a result of people flushing the wipes.
“These backups place a financial strain on our budgets, but also put public and private property at risk,” he said.
Residents are encouraged to not flush anything down the toilet other than human waste and toilet paper.
