Protect your pipes

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Know where it goes

Are you flushing wipes down the toilet or pouring grease down the sink?

What you pour down the sink or flush down the toilet can be costly. It can lead to blocked pipes in your home, costly plumbing repairs and flood damage from sewage backups in your basement. It can also be costly for municipal wastewater treatment equipment including blocked sewer pipes and buildup on wastewater handling equipment requiring unscheduled maintenance.

Top offenders: how to correctly dispose of household items that are routinely flushed

The chart below lists the correct disposal method for many household items that are routinely flushed. For a complete list of how to properly dispose of your waste ask the Region of Waterloo Waste Whiz.

Wipes: disposable wipes, disinfecting wipes, baby wipes. This includes flushable wipes.	Garbage
Bandages and wraps	Garbage
Extinguished cigarettes	Garbage
Coffee grinds, egg shells and food	Garbage
Cotton balls, pads and swabs with a rolled paper or wooden rod	Green bin
Cotton swabs with a plastic rod	Garbage
Dental floss	Garbage
Disposable diapers and baby wipes	Garbage
Disposable toilet brushes and cleaning sponges	Garbage
Fat, oils and grease	Greenbin (limit of 1 cup) or garbage
Hair	Greenbin
Power towels and napkins	Greenbin

Put wipes, including flushable ones, in the garbage

No wipes - including ones marked "flushable" - should be flushed down the toilet. They don't break apart and block pipes which can overflow, causing health concerns, environmental issues, and property damage for homeowners and wastewater treatment plants. Put wipes, including flushable ones, in the garbage.

Read the information sheet to learn more.

Unscheduled maintenance at wastewater treatment plant from wipes flushed down toilets

Make your own reusable wipes

For a reusable alternative to wipes, try using "green" cleaning solutions and a reusable rag or make your own using this simple DIY:

1. Combine the below ingredients

1 cup of warm water
1 tablespoon of liquid soap
1/2 cup of rubbing alcohol
(optional) a few drops of essential oil such as lavender, lemon, eucalyptus

2. Place rags or washcloths into a container

3. Pour liquid solution over rags or washcloths

4. Overtime, you may need to add hot water to reactivate them as they dry out

Properly dispose of fats, cooking oils and grease

Fat, cooking oil and grease (FOG) should never go down your drains. They can block sewer pipes and cause buildup on wastewater handling equipment. Blocked pipes can overflow causing health concerns, environmental issues and property damage. Ask the Waste Whiz on how to properly dispose of FOG.

Clogged pipe from fat, oil or grease (photo credit: Barry Orr, City of London)

Return unused and expired medications to participating pharmacies

Medicines poured down your sink or flushed down your toilet may end up in our waterways. Return unused and expired medications to a location near you.

Return expired and unused medication for proper disposal

Properly dispose of chemicals, oils and paints

Buy only what you need, use it up and dispose of leftovers safely and properly. Consider using green alternatives and natural options whenever possible.

Paint cans on shelf

What businesses need to know

Businesses discharging fat, oil and grease must comply with the Region of Waterloo Sewer Use By-law 1-90. Workers, management, facility owners and property owners all must understand and manage the type of materials going down the drain.

Read the Fats, oils and grease information sheet to learn more.

restaurant kitchen

Activities for kids

Activity sheet: To flush or not to flush (Answers for "where it should go" activity)
Video (hands-on activity): The 3 Ps of Wastewater activity (WWCGF)
Video: Where it goes after you flush (Region of Waterloo)
Video: What not to flush (WWCGF)
Video: The 3Ps (WWCGF)

In the news

Water Canada, April 2021: Wastewater Professionals Release Specification for Flushability