The solution
In a November 2020 BBC report, Northumbrian Water says a spiky metal tool it put in sewers, named the Barbarian by customers, helped identify more than 200 households flushing wet wipes in less than six months. The gadget's inventor, Steve Green, says it identifies wipe-caused blockages much earlier.
Green explains that unlike toilet paper, wipes do not break down quickly in sewers and can snag or settle in pipes, the first stage of a blockage. Sewage then backs up and can flood homes, businesses or the environment. The Barbarian is used in faster-flowing sewers to catch wipes and pinpoint where they came from.
The company says it educates people identified as flushers and warns that if they continue, they could be charged for clearing any resulting blockage. It also continues to push for better labelling, noting that few wipes carry the water industry's 'fine to flush' label.
Why it worked
Wipes were responsible for nearly two thirds of the 15,600 blockages cleared the previous year.
Packaging claims such as 'flushable' do not mean a wipe breaks down in sewers.
Finding the source lets the utility address individual households instead of broad appeals.
What can be applied
If you cannot see who causes a diffuse problem, instrument the shared channel to find where it begins, then target the message there.
Aftermath
The BBC reports the tool had identified 202 wipe-flushing households in under six months. It does not report whether blockage numbers fell, or whether anyone had yet been charged.
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