Flannels not fatbergs! The eco-friendly alternatives to wet wipes

A 'monster' blockage has been discovered in London sewers and wet wipes are a major contributor. But from makeup removal to household cleaning, what should we be using instead?

Images of melting icebergs have long proved inspirational to environmentalists and politicians seeking to mitigate the threat of man-made climate change. So why is it that images of giant fatbergs clogging our sewers can't seem to stop people flushing wet wipes down the loo?

These fatty underground tumours, comprised largely of wipes, nappies and cooking grease, have proliferated, backing up plumbing systems as far afield as New York City, San Francisco and Sydney. This month, a 130-tonne fatberg stretching the length of two football pitches was revealed during a routine inspection of the ageing sewage pipes beneath Whitechapel, in east London. Weighing about the same as a medium-sized jetliner, the fatberg is among the largest ever found and, left unchecked, could have sent a deluge of raw sewage on to the streets of London. Thames Water's sewer chief Matt Rimmer described it as "a total monster" that would take three weeks to clear with shovels and high-powered water jets.

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