Toilet paper hoarding and a supply shortage has forced many to use single-use alternatives like newspaper, blocking sewer systems and leading authorities to recommend cloth alternatives to prevent any possibility of overflow.
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The issue has become so bad in Merimbula, Bega Valley Shire Council's senior environmental health officer Myfanwy Appleton said basket traps, which prevent solid debris from entering sewer pump stations, are being cleaned every few days by hand.
Toilet paper has been one of many products in short supply on supermarket shelves during the current COVID-19 pandemic, with the sewer issue recently causing 20,000 litres of waste water to spill into Bendigo Creek in Victoria.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison met with major supermarket chains earlier this month to discuss the supply chain issue for products like toilet paper and hand sanitizer.
He said he was also working with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission on ways the government can help companies ensure supply of important products.
"There are obviously some lines which will be more tested in the short term, but they're working on those," he said.
Retail giant Coles and Woolworths soon announced a limit on toilet paper purchases with supermarket shelves stripped bare after panic buying. Last week a Sydeny man was arrested after allegedly stealing 400 rolls of toilet paper from restricted storage areas of supermarkets.
Ms Appleton said wet wipes, paper towels and newspapers have become popular single-use alternatives, and advised residents to "bag and bin" the waste rather than flushing it down the toilet and causing an increase in blockages.
"The only things that should go down the loo are the three P's: pee, poo, and (toilet) paper," Ms Appleton said.
"Wet wipes and other alternatives to toilet paper do not break down like toilet paper, being tougher and stronger, and therefore get caught in our network and create blockages," she said.
Single use alternatives can also "interfere with the functioning of septic tanks and aerated wastewater treatment systems, she said.
"While we recognise the challenges people are facing with toilet paper shortages, we need sewage to stay in the sewer network rather than overflowing into public spaces, or backing up into homes," Ms Appleton said.
She said residents using reusable cloth wipes as an alternative to toilet paper and cloth nappies for their children should keep an enclosed soak bucket next to their toilet, and wash the cloths as soon as possible using a detergent, a disinfectant soak and rinse, and then thoroughly dried.
"Take care to reduce contact with faeces and urine and wash your hands with soap thoroughly after toileting," Ms Appleton said.
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