More than a fifth of people still flush wet wipes down the toilet, according to a survey.
Despite warnings over fatbergs and blockages, a national poll of 1,111 people by Populus for Yorkshire Water showed 8% of people admitted to always flushing wet wipes down the toilet.
And 13% said they sometimes did.
The water company is urging people to bin wet wipes instead of flushing them, as part of its month-long “Unblocktober” campaign to reduce the amount of foreign objects flushed into the sewers and fats poured down drains.
It says wet wipes are the most common cause of blockages, but other items including sanitary products, cooking oils and fats, nappies, cotton buds and even clothing are also responsible.
They can cause sewers to flood in homes, neighbourhoods and the local environment.
Mark Hammond, head of customer field services at Yorkshire Water, said: “It is concerning to find that so many people are still flushing wet wipes down their toilets, despite our warnings and information on packets not to do so.
“We spend millions of pounds every year on clearing blockages caused by items that should not be flushed – money which could be spent on improving our network and innovative new technologies.
“Anything other than the three Ps – poo, pee and (toilet) paper – has the potential to cause or contribute to blockages in the sewers so it is important people bin everything else,” he urged.
