'Keep Helensburgh Heavenly' Nature Calls meets Festive Fun

If you’ve seen our Nature Calls campaign, you’ll know that plastic wipes pose a huge risk to the environment, local communities, and your pipes. So, we’ve teamed up with Plastic Free Helensburgh to urge residents to help wipe out chokes and Keep Helensburgh Heavenly.  

Throughout Scotland, we attend around 36,000 blockages a year, costing Scottish Water a staggering £7 million. In the last year, 108 blockages have been attended to in Helensburgh alone, increasing to 178 if we include surrounding areas of Rhu, Shandon, Garelochhead, Clynder & Roseneath, Cove & Kilcreggan.  

Wipes containing plastic aren’t biodegradable, so when they’re flushed, they combine with fats, oils, and greases in our sewers, creating nasty fatbergs which can cause blockages and flooding in our communities. Not only is this inconvenient for us all, but is harmful to nature.  

To help combat blockages across Scotland, we are running localised versions of our nationwide behaviour change campaign, helping residents to understand the impact of flushing wipes and how to better dispose of waste. It is vital that our customers recognise the issues that come with disposing of non-flushable items down the toilet, especially as wilder weather is beginning to set in this winter. So, have a look out for our community posters in shops, pharmacies and libraries around Helensburgh! You might also find chalk-based stencils in busy areas to highlight the risk of wipes blocking pipes in your favourite local spot.

Join us on Saturday the 18th of November to chat all things Nature Calls and enjoy some festive fun! You can find us at the Christmas Market & Light Switch On, Colquhoun Square from 10am-6pm, and at the PTA Christmas Fair, Hermitage Academy, 11am-2pm.  

Big changes have already been made from the Nature Calls campaign, as our call to ban wipes containing plastic has been adopted by the UK Government (pending consultation), but we need your help in protecting your local community – this winter, and forevermore, let’s Keep Helensburgh Heavenly.