- Date: 24 August 2022
- Category: Informative Articles, Safety, Waste Management
You might have seen on the news recently that there is a lot of talk of raw sewage being dumped in U.K rivers and seas. It’s a complex story that many people don’t quite understand. So we’re here to give you the low down on exactly what is going on.
Where has this Sewage Story Come From?
That’s a good question. The story first appeared in the U.K news last year, in September ’21. Then, the government allowed water companies to dump sewage into our seas because of a shortage of treatment chemicals. This came from an initial HGV driver shortage, which stopped the distribution of ferric sulphate, the chemical used in water treatment. The statement can be read here, but in summary Water.org stated that while drinking water wouldn’t be impacted, they were keeping an eye on the situation.
Because of this, the need to use combined sewer overflows (CSOs) was important. These overflow pipes take sewage to the sea, instead of allowing it to overflow, untreated, into people’s homes and on to streets. Obviously neither situations are good, but the latter would be an even greater publish health risk than dumping into the sea.
What are People Saying?
Unsurprisingly, many people are unhappy with the situation. The activist group Surfers Against Sewage have raised their complains. Handily, they have created in interactive map where you can check any complains ongoing against your local waterworks.
Online, there has been lots of negative press. Rightly so, in some ways. Last year’s government vote that initially passed the legislation allowing companies to dump sewage in the sea has seen many MPs take flack from all areas of society.
How Might This Impact You?
Well, for the short term, it means that sea ways are becoming less safe. Especially during summer, when people use the sea as a place to swim, this sewage is making things dangerous and can cause serious illness. But the environmental problems could be longer lasting.
Dumping sewage into the sea is unhealthy for wildlife and damaging the world’s largest natural water resource. The stats on the dumping are pretty grim too. In 2021 alone, over 300,000 incidents of dumping were recorded, a figure that the Environmental Agency say themselves is too much, even with the treatment issues.
So, What is Happening About the Sewage Problem?
Right now there is a major investigation happening by the Environmental Agency and Ofwat, the water regulatory body. This is to discover exactly how much unauthorised pollution had been loaded into our seas. While there have been some scenarios allowed, these extra dumping situations have helped these companies avoid treating the water. This has possibly saved them money and caused damaged to our natural habitat and potentially danger to life. The authorities are investigating over 2000 sewage treatment works. They could also potentially dish out fines of up to 10% of the company’s annual turnover.
What Should I Look Out For?
Dumping waste into the sea isn’t allowed, but other types of waste dumping is also illegal. That’s why it’s important that you deal with authorised waste collectors.
Direct365 provide commercial waste collection for all types of waste. We ensure that all of the documentation and authorisation is made available for all parties. This helps you know and understand what process they are involved in. Our carriers are all certified waste collectors and hold the correct licenses and legal documents to dispose of waste correctly and responsibility.
If you are a business that is in need of someone to collect and dispose of your general, recycling, clinical or hazardous waste, let us know by completing the form below.