THE WHAT? Yorkshire Water is lobbying government to usher in mandatory labelling requirements for wet wipes warning users not to flush them down the toilet, according to a report published by The Independent.

THE DETAILS The UK water firm revealed that it spends ‘millions’ on clearing blockages caused by the popular disposable cloths, with both those claiming to be ‘flushable’ and ‘biodegradeable’ and regular wipes equally at fault.

THE WHY? Ben Roche, Director of Wastewater at Yorkshire Water, told The Independent, “Consumers are currently faced with an array of different logos and claims on packets of wet wipes, including ‘fine to flush’, ‘do not flush’ and ‘biodegradable’ labels.

“Those labelled ‘fine to flush’ often indicate only one wipe should be flushed at a time, but often this is not followed or understood by customers.

“Even then, these wipes generally contain plastic so do not break down in the sewer as toilet roll does.”