News
Meet Wallace, a monster made from wet wipes, and find out why you should be a ‘binner’ not a ‘flusher’
Marine Conservation Society and South West Water set to reveal why misleading labelling must be wiped out
The UK’s leading marine charity and the water company that supplies Cornwall are joining forces to highlight the huge problems created by flushing wet wipes down the loo – with the help of a giant monster made out of wipes!
The Marine Conservation Society (MCS) is bringing Wallace the Wet Wipe Monster to Gyllyngvase Beach, Falmouth on Thursday 8th September for a joint event with South West Water.
Wallace will be the centrepiece of a day aimed at helping the public understand the financial and environmental cost of putting the wrong stuff down the loo. Created by Designs in Air, based in Bristol, Wallace is over 3m tall and 8m wide.
MCS say that the number of wet wipes found on UK beaches have increased by 400% over the last decade and there are now about 50 of the little squares found on every kilometre of coastline cleaned by the charity’s volunteers during just one weekend.
Wet wipes are one of the great convenience products of the 21st century – we can’t get enough of them – baby wipes, hygiene wipes, moist toilet tissue, cleaning wipes – our bathrooms are full of them. But instead of ending up in the bin when they’re finished with – many end up being popped down the loo. It’s not just the ones that we know shouldn’t be flushed that are causing the problems, but also those described as flushable or dispersible (in the case of moist toilet tissue). Water companies, like South West Water, are finding that, when flushed, these result in blockages because they don’t meet the water industry standard allowing them to be flushed.
South West Water says it costs them, and their customers, £4.5million each year to clear around 8,500 blockages in their sewerage network – about 65% of which are caused by wipes and other sanitary products being flushed down the toilet.
Last August, South West Water launched its Love Your Loo campaign to encourage customers only to flush the 3Ps – pee, paper and poo. Earlier this year MCS launched its Wet Wipes Turn Nasty When You Flush Them campaign to highlight the issue and encourage people to sign the charity’s petition for clearer labelling on all wipes packaging.
Laura Foster, MCS Head of Pollution says blockages can be expensive and cause a great deal of inconvenience to households but are completely avoidable: “Wallace, our wet wipe monster, is a great way to engage with people about what happens when wet wipes are flushed. We want retailers to remove any “flushable” labelling from their packaging so customers have the right information in their hands and become ‘binners’ not ‘flushers’ and only flush the 3Ps down the loo!”
Andy Willicott, Director of Operations (Waste Water) at South West Water, says wet wipes clog up pipes and affect the service to customers: “To combat this we’re pleased to team up with MCS to encourage more people to change their behaviours and only flush the 3Ps. We’re also working closely with the rest of the industry to persuade retailers and manufacturers to label their products responsibly so that our customers aren’t confused and our drains don’t get blocked.”
To find out more about the problems wet wipes cause, come and meet Wallace and his handlers from MCS and South West Water at Gyllyngvase Beach, Falmouth Cornwall on Thursday 8th September from 11am – 4pm.
If you can’t make the event then please visit the website and sign the petition for clearer labelling – www.wetwipesturnnasty.com and www.southwestwater.co.uk/loveyourloo.
Free Octopus with every purchase of a SCUBAPRO regulator system
Just in time for the spring season, divers can save money with the FREE OCTOPUS SPRING PROMOTION! Until July 31st SCUBAPRO offers an Octopus for free
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SCUBAPRO offers a 30-year first owner warranty on all regulators, with a revision period of two years or 100 dives. All SCUBAPRO regulators are of course certified according to the new European test standard EN250-2014.
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More information available on www.scubapro.com.
Jake Davies boards Ghazala Explorer for an unforgettable Red Sea diving experience…
Overnight, the wind picked up, making the planned morning dive a bit bumpy on the Zodiacs to the drop point on Thomas Reef. There, we would dive along the reef before descending through the canyon and then passing under the arch before ascending the wall with a gentle drift. The site provided great encounters with more pelagic species, including shoals of large barracuda, tuna, and bigeye trevally.
Once back on the boat, it was time to get everything tied down again as we would head back south. This time, with the wind behind us, heading to Ras Mohammed to dive Jackfish Alley for another great gentle drift wall dive before then heading up the coast towards the Gulf of Suez to moor up at the wreck of the Thistlegorm. This being the highlight wreck dive of the trip and for many onboard, including myself, it was the first time diving this iconic wreck. I had heard so much about the wreck from friends, and globally, this is a must on any diver’s list. Fortunately for us, there was only one other boat at the site, which was a rarity. A great briefing was delivered by Ahmed, who provided a detailed background about the wreck’s history along with all the required safety information as the currents and visibility at the site can be variable.
Kitting up, there was a lot of excitement on deck before entering the water and heading down the shoreline. Descending to the wreck, there was a light northerly current which reduced the visibility, making it feel more like the conditions that can be found off the Welsh coast. At 10m from the bottom, the outline of the wreck appeared as we reached the area of the wreck which had been bombed, as our mooring line was attached to part of the propeller shaft. Arriving on deck, instantly everywhere you looked there were many of the supplies which the ship was carrying, including Bren Carrier tanks and projectiles that instantly stood out.
We headed around the exterior, taking a look at the large propeller and guns mounted on deck before entering the wreck on the port side to take a look in the holds. It was incredible to see all the trucks, Norton 16H, and BSA motorcycles still perfectly stacked within, providing a real snapshot in time.
Overall, we had four dives on the Thistlegorm, where for all of the dives we were the only group in the water, and at times, there were just three of us on the whole wreck, which made it even more special, especially knowing that most days the wreck has hundreds of divers. Along with the history of the wreck, there was plenty of marine life on the wreck and around, from big green turtles to batfish, along with shoals of mackerel being hunted by trevally. Some unforgettable dives.
The final leg of the trip saw us cross back over the Suez Canal to the Gobal Islands where we planned to stay the night and do three dives at the Dolphin House for the potential of sharing the dive with dolphins. The site, which included a channel that was teeming with reef fish, especially large numbers of goatfish that swam in large shoals along the edge of the reef. These were nice relaxing dives to end the week. Unfortunately, the dolphins didn’t show up, which was okay as like all marine life they are difficult to predict and you can’t guarantee what’s going to be seen. With the last dive complete, we headed back to port for the final night where it was time to clean all the kit and pack before the departure flight the next day.
The whole week from start to finish on Ghazala Explorer was amazing; the boat had all the facilities you need for a comfortable week aboard. The crew were always there to help throughout the day and the chefs providing top quality food which was required after every dive. The itinerary providing some of the best diving with a nice mixture of wreck and reef dives. I would recommend the trip to anyone, whether it’s your first Red Sea liveaboard in the Red Sea or you’re revisiting. Hopefully, it’s not too long before I head back to explore more of the Red Sea onboard Ghazala Explorer.
To find out more about the Northern Red Sea reef and wrecks itineraries aboard Ghazala Explorer, or to book, contact Scuba Travel now:
Email: dive@scubatravel.com
Tel: +44 (0)1483 411590
Photos: Jake Davies / Avalon.Red
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