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I spent the first six months of my apprenticeship working in lift stations ("lift" poop up every mile or so, so gravity can keep sludge moving"). The item miss

I spent the first six months of my apprenticeship working in lift stations ("lift" poop up every mile or so, so gravity can keep sludge moving"). The item missing from the article that disgusted me most was the massive amount of tampons which found themselves ejected from the semi-solid pumps. From afar, they appear to be a moat of dead mice. It was literally somebody's job to shovel these up, as nothing more than routine. Who is still tossing these/trash into toilets?

SoftTalker 1y ago
> Who is still tossing these/trash into toilets? Most women who use them? Sit down, pull it out, drop it, flush. It's the easiest thing.
- ProllyInfamous 1y ago
  Please use (or provide) the little trashcan that ought'ta sit next to any toilet. This "simple" action far exceeds half of sewage maintenance budgets. Only flush TP, liquids, and poop — does not matter if sewer / septic. Src: former sewer pump repair guy; have had a $eptic $ystem ruined by gue$t tampon$.
  - kulahan 1y ago
    This requires a PSA, not internet comments. And honestly, I imagine people are willing to pay the extra maintenance dollars to not have to take that extra step. We all appreciate some kind of convenience.
  - deadbabe 1y ago
    No.
  - quesera 1y ago
    It's a classic problem of externalized consequences. But with the added challenge that the action happens in a very private place. Also, this tends to be a topic where the actor has a dramatically negative interest in suggestions from the person who will have to deal with the problem. Nevertheless, septic fields cost $20-30K, and municipal sewer management is also very expensive. Aside (but not far): Someone should honestly bring litigation against the wipes that call themselves flushable.
    - ProllyInfamous 1y ago
      >wipes that call themselves flushable There is no such product, despite many such packaging claims. >the person who will have to deal with the problem Plumbers will always have work, but there may be environmental consequences in the interim: I renovated a small garage apartment, located in the wealthiest part of town (Lookout Mountain). The property had been owned by the same family since the 1930s, and was home of the same heir since the early 1990s (until renovated ~2022). After the historic toilet/flange rusted out, Heir lived their for another thirty years squatting into a hole that dropped down into a bucket (in the garage, below). He would then run off into the forest to dump the poop, once festidiously heaping. As he aged, the loads got smaller and smaller (until one day he just decided to stop emptying it, until quickly thereafter Going Home, thank god / RIP). Millions and millions of dollars in neighboring properties, and this legacy of the mountain was contributing his own surface run-off into Poopy Falls' tributaries (Ruby Falls, which is an underground waterfall made up of recycled septic field line water of the affluent mountaintop community, above). Just a surface stream of solid effluent / shit. >Nevertheless, septic fields cost $20-30K That's if you're under ideal conditions. Some situations (e.g. hillside) can quickly approach $100k+.
- throwway120385 1y ago
  Sometimes they just fall out.
  - quesera 1y ago
    ... and if that were the scale of the problem, it would not be one. :)
sho_hn 1y ago
Maybe I have a particularly florid imagination, but it's hard to believe that tampons would be the most digusting thing found in sewers. I mean, they rank far below even just fecal matter on the icky scale. My anticipation for shock and & are for clicking this thread is so far not met.
- ProllyInfamous 1y ago
  Poop doesn't really exist very long. Neither does toilet paper. Mostly, it amalgamates into "sludge." Tampons don't succumb to the namesake maserators, and are instead ejected (there is a foreign debris port for anything that doesn't drip out centrifugally). Within the darker corners of sewerlines you find the fat plaques, which are disgusting (but pass through the pumps in smaller pieces). But... Tampons everywhere. There's even moats to catch 'em all.
wodenokoto 1y ago
I believe a lot of them still says “flushable”, even though the plumber disagrees.
- ProllyInfamous 1y ago
  >"flushable" There is no such product, despite many such packaging claims. Other non-flushables: condoms; cigarette (& so many clear wrappers!); candy wrappers; tampons.

SoftTalker 1y ago

> Who is still tossing these/trash into toilets? Most women who use them? Sit down, pull it out, drop it, flush. It's the easiest thing.

ProllyInfamous 1y ago
Please use (or provide) the little trashcan that ought'ta sit next to any toilet. This "simple" action far exceeds half of sewage maintenance budgets. Only flush TP, liquids, and poop — does not matter if sewer / septic. Src: former sewer pump repair guy; have had a $eptic $ystem ruined by gue$t tampon$.
- kulahan 1y ago
  This requires a PSA, not internet comments. And honestly, I imagine people are willing to pay the extra maintenance dollars to not have to take that extra step. We all appreciate some kind of convenience.
- deadbabe 1y ago
  No.
- quesera 1y ago
  It's a classic problem of externalized consequences. But with the added challenge that the action happens in a very private place. Also, this tends to be a topic where the actor has a dramatically negative interest in suggestions from the person who will have to deal with the problem. Nevertheless, septic fields cost $20-30K, and municipal sewer management is also very expensive. Aside (but not far): Someone should honestly bring litigation against the wipes that call themselves flushable.
  - ProllyInfamous 1y ago
    >wipes that call themselves flushable There is no such product, despite many such packaging claims. >the person who will have to deal with the problem Plumbers will always have work, but there may be environmental consequences in the interim: I renovated a small garage apartment, located in the wealthiest part of town (Lookout Mountain). The property had been owned by the same family since the 1930s, and was home of the same heir since the early 1990s (until renovated ~2022). After the historic toilet/flange rusted out, Heir lived their for another thirty years squatting into a hole that dropped down into a bucket (in the garage, below). He would then run off into the forest to dump the poop, once festidiously heaping. As he aged, the loads got smaller and smaller (until one day he just decided to stop emptying it, until quickly thereafter Going Home, thank god / RIP). Millions and millions of dollars in neighboring properties, and this legacy of the mountain was contributing his own surface run-off into Poopy Falls' tributaries (Ruby Falls, which is an underground waterfall made up of recycled septic field line water of the affluent mountaintop community, above). Just a surface stream of solid effluent / shit. >Nevertheless, septic fields cost $20-30K That's if you're under ideal conditions. Some situations (e.g. hillside) can quickly approach $100k+.
throwway120385 1y ago
Sometimes they just fall out.
- quesera 1y ago
  ... and if that were the scale of the problem, it would not be one. :)

sho_hn 1y ago

Maybe I have a particularly florid imagination, but it's hard to believe that tampons would be the most digusting thing found in sewers. I mean, they rank far below even just fecal matter on the icky scale. My anticipation for shock and & are for clicking this thread is so far not met.

ProllyInfamous 1y ago
Poop doesn't really exist very long. Neither does toilet paper. Mostly, it amalgamates into "sludge." Tampons don't succumb to the namesake maserators, and are instead ejected (there is a foreign debris port for anything that doesn't drip out centrifugally). Within the darker corners of sewerlines you find the fat plaques, which are disgusting (but pass through the pumps in smaller pieces). But... Tampons everywhere. There's even moats to catch 'em all.

wodenokoto 1y ago

I believe a lot of them still says “flushable”, even though the plumber disagrees.

ProllyInfamous 1y ago
>"flushable" There is no such product, despite many such packaging claims. Other non-flushables: condoms; cigarette (& so many clear wrappers!); candy wrappers; tampons.