Unblocktober celebrates the success of 2024 campaign

Unblocktober 2024 has reached new heights with the support of the British public

Unblocktober has celebrated its sixth year in 2024 by achieving 72,677 signups to the campaign to save our sewers and seas.

The campaign was built in 2019 by drainage experts Lanes Group and it aims to improve the health of our drains and waterways. With 11,000,000 tonnes of plastic dumped into our seas every year, Lanes Group feels that it is now more important than ever to take the Unblocktober pledge.

The Unblocktober pledge is a promise for individuals and businesses to keep potentially harmful waste materials out of our drains for the whole month.

This includes any of the following products:

Cooking oil – pre or post-cooking
Margarine
Butter
Lard
Cooking sauces and condiments
Food – even crumbs
Wet wipes
Face masks
Tampons, applicators and wrappers
Sanitary/menstrual pads and towels
Nappies
Condoms
Cotton buds
Contact lenses
Bandages and plasters
Razor blades
Dental floss
Rubber gloves
2024 was a landmark year for Unblocktober in many ways. This year saw us hand over responsibility for naming our campaign’s whale mascot to the British public through our Name the Whale contest – the winning name, ‘Sploosh’ was suggested by a talented five-year-old from Manchester! Additionally, Ty Harling, Head of Operations at Lanes Group, also appeared on BBC Radio to talk about drain health.

Other highlights from this year’s Unblocktober included the publication of eye-opening new stats on the UK’s drainage habits, exclusive insights from the University of Hertfordshire and the Water Research Centre, and the usual packed schedule of weekly tips and challenges that helped our supporters get properly stuck into Unblocktober throughout the month.

Peter Henley of the University of Hertfordshire also spoke to the campaign about the history of ‘fine to flush’ and why there was a need to phase out the idea that anything apart from pee, poo and paper was ok to flush down the drains.

Jacob Larkin, spokesperson for Unblocktober said: “To get over 70,000 signups to the Unblocktober campaign has been a fantastic achievement. We are so proud of the efforts of everyone involved with the campaign and also of the British public for their continued support.

“It has been a great year where we have seen a huge response from across the business and political spectrum. We now must look to 2025 and keep pushing the campaign to improve our drain health and water environment.”

Driven completely by the British public, and launched by Lanes Group, the leading wastewater utility solutions provider and largest independent drainage specialist in the UK. In 2019, the Unblocktober campaign aims to continue to improve the health of our drains and reduce the environmental impact of our wastewater.