What Not To Flush

What NOT to Flush Down The Toilet (or Dump in the Sink)

You can help prevent blocked sewer lines, clogged equipment in the sewage pump stations, and polluted water in Mamaroneck Harbor if you're careful about what you flush in the toilet, dump in the sink, pour down the storm drain or onto the ground.

Here, from the Village of Mamaroneck’s Committee for the Environment, are the worst offenders:

Wipes, a major cause of sewer problems today. Made of cloth,they do not break down on their way through the pipes to the treatment plant. Wipes may be advertised as“flushable,” but they cause major blockages and should be thrown in the garbage, not the toilet.

Other cloggers, such as paper towels, rags, tampons, bandages, band-aids. Even tissues are best in the garbage because they don’t break down as readily as toilet paper.

Grease, oils, and fats. They solidify and can block your own household pipes as well as the sewer lines. Collect them in an old jar with a screw top, store in the refrigerator until full, then put in the garbage.

Plastic, any variety, any size. It doesn’t disintegrate.

Chemicals such as paint (including water-based), solvents, pesticides, herbicides, kerosene. They are toxic and pollute the water in our streams,rivers, harbor, and the Sound.

Prescription and over-the-counter drugs. These too end up in the water all around us where they are harmful to marine and human life.