See the ‘unflushable’ waste in Ipswich’s pipes

Anglian Water have to remove wet wipes, face wipes and sanitary products from ther pipes every day Picture: NIK SHELTON (Image: Nik Shelton)

The Cliff Quay recycling centre in Ipswich is where the water company removes all of the 'unflushable' waste from the water leaving homes across the town.

In photos shared on Twitter, Anglian Water revealed the sheer scale of the rubbish being removed from the waste water - just a fraction of the estimated 800tonnes of items that should not be flushed in the East of England every week.

Wet wipes, face wipes, sanitary products and cotton buds - even children's toys, mobile phones and false teeth - have to be fished out of the water.

An Anglian Water spokesman said: "We would generally see this amount of unflushables everyday coming into our recycling centres from general waste coming in.

"Sewer blockages and fatbergs, mainly caused by a build-up of wet wipes, fats, oils, grease and food waste creating solid masses have been increasing in frequency in recent years."

The spokesman added that this mass is not technically a fatberg, which is a mass of fats and waste that builds up in sewers and not the waste fished out by Anglian Water.

"Preventable blockages cost Anglian Water £19million a year and we are urging people to not put anything down toilets unless it is pee, poo or (toilet) paper.

"All food waste should be put into food waste bins and not down sinks," the spokesman added.

The Cliff Quay recycling centre is where Anglian Water removes all the 'unflushable' waste from the sewers of Ipswich Picture: NIK SHELTON (Image: Nik Shelton)

The claw at the Cliff Quay recycling centre in Ipswich reaches into the waste to remove the wads of 'unflushables' - materials that should not go down a toilet and can clog up plumbing in the townPicture: NIK SHELTON (Image: Nik Shelton)

One clawful of grime lifted from the water at the Cliff Quay recycling centre, Ipswich Picture: NIK SHELTON (Image: Nik Shelton)