Who Won the U.S. Presidential Debate?

Sampling reveals that there is an incredible amount of rubbish lying on the seabed. This is because many people are still flushing all sorts of things down the toilet, believing that they will simply disappear. But, of course, this is not the case. Both wet wipes and chemical substances have a negative impact on the biology of marine animals. This is also true of many other products that are branded as "natural."

"Even if a product is branded as 'natural,' this doesn't mean that it simply dissolves away when released into the natural environment," says Senior Research Scientist Ida Beathe Øverjordet at SINTEF. "Such products still have very long decomposition times and should not be flushed down the toilet, even if they're labeled as biodegradable," she says.

This fact may confuse consumers, who do not understand that even so-called natural products may have a major negative impact on the marine environment if they are flushed down the toilet.

"I've reviewed the literature," says Øverjordet. "The decomposition time for wet wipes branded as 'natural' products may be up to 200 years and is even longer for those that contain plastic," she says.

This information has now become part of a public awareness campaign recently launched in Svalbard in connection with a research project called CLIMAREST. The campaign is attempting to make both residents and visitors aware of what they should and should not be flushing down the toilet.

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