Why this matters for the Dart: the toilet is the shortest route from your house to the river when the system fails, and wipes are the main reason it fails.
The rule: only flush the 3Ps: pee, poo and paper.
Water companies across the country, including South West Water, ask customers to remember the "3Ps": nothing should go down the loo except pee, paper and poo 6. Everything else is an "unflushable", and the list is longer than most people think: wet wipes, period products, nappies, cotton buds, dental floss, contact lenses, plasters and razor blades all belong in the bin 29.
Wet wipes deserve special mention because they are the single worst offender. Unlike toilet paper, most wipes are made with plastic or strong fibres and do not break down in the sewer. The Environment Agency reports that wipes make up more than 90% of the material causing sewers to block 21, and Water UK, the body representing the water companies, reports that 75% of drain blockages are caused by people flushing wet wipes 20. Even wipes labelled "flushable" are best binned; the water industry's Bin the Wipe campaign asks for exactly one change of habit, wipes in the bin, and notes that blockages cost around £200 million a year to clear 27. When those blockages happen, sewage escapes, and on a river with 44 permitted overflow sites 8 the Dart needs no extra help spilling.
The "flushable" label itself deserves scepticism. A UK laboratory study found synthetic plastic polymers, including polyester and polyethylene, in wipes labelled flushable, and concluded that such wipes could be a source of microplastic fibres in wastewater 75. And when Canadian researchers tested 101 single-use products against sewer flushability criteria, including 23 marketed as flushable, not one passed the disintegration tests 76.
The plastic problem does not stay in the pipes. The environmental charity City to Sea reports that wet wipes found on UK beaches increased by more than 700% in a decade, and that 1 to 2 billion period products are flushed every year in the UK 28. Flushed plastics block sewers, become beach and riverbed litter, and carry bacteria with them.
Put a bin in the bathroom. Most flushed unflushables are flushed because the bin is in another room. A small lidded bin next to the loo, with a liner, removes the temptation. Why it helps the Dart: every wipe binned is one that can never block a sewer or end up on the riverbank at Totnes. How hard: easy.
Bin wipes, even "flushable" ones. If you use wipes for skincare, cleaning or children, keep using them; just bin them 27. Why it helps the Dart: wipes are the main ingredient of the blockages that cause sewage to escape. How hard: easy.
Bin period products. Pads, tampons and applicators go in the bin, at home and away. Some people also switch to reusables, but the river only asks that nothing is flushed 28 29. Why it helps the Dart: period products are among the most common flushed plastics found on beaches 28. How hard: easy.
Never flush medicines. Old pills, liquid medicines and ointments must never go down the loo or the sink. They get their own page, medicines & chemicals, because the fix is wonderfully simple.
Spread the habit. If you run a holiday let, café or pub, your visitors' flushing habits become the Dart's problem; the page for local businesses includes a ready-made way to ask nicely.