The gesture seems harmless. The wet towel disappears into an odorless vortex after being removed from the bag. But then the journey begins with devastating consequences. This is a huge amount of contaminated waste that can clog pipes at the base of buildings, clog culverts, collapse collection equipment, and ultimately end up on riverbanks.
In 2024, the Isabel II canal purifier removed 33,000 tons of solid waste. This equates to more than 4 kg per inhabitant. Since 2018, around 30,000 tons or more have been recorded each year. It’s a real disaster for those who try to take action by deploying bags, pipes and containment systems throughout the sanitation network. However, solutions are always partial. Prevention is key. It can never be used as stationery.
The great enemy of urban drainage
Toilet paper dissolves in water and deteriorates. Damp towel fibers, no. Even if some containers warn about biodegradability, it’s a years-long process and doesn’t alleviate the problems they cause. Towels, compresses, sticks, condoms, cotton wool, and rags pose a serious threat to hydraulic infrastructure and can become trapped, forming holes and adhering to pipe walls, causing failures.
day trip
Bold, odorless, towel fibers do not dissolve in water. They are the main cause of seizures.
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When they become entangled and stick to the walls of the tube, It may cause damage to houses and buildings.
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Luego passes Alcantallado. A network of 16,000 km lies beneath the Community of Madrid.
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When rainwater and solid waste turn red, The surplus is drained directly into the tank through the drain pipe.
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Drains and drainage pipes are installed to stop the flow of waste. 2,000 tons of these relief supplies are scheduled to be removed in 2024.
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Water from the sanitary network passes through a water filter before pouring into the river. More than 33,000 tonnes of waste will be removed in 2024.
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All such contamination will be avoided If towels and other intimate hygiene products are removed from paper towels.
First it affects the conduits within the building itself, then the municipal water collectors, and finally the pumping system. Workers often have to troubleshoot problems with hydraulic fittings and pumps that cannot be repaired, resulting in high economic costs as well as physical danger to the worker. The Spanish Urban Water Association (DAQUAS) estimates that the treatment of these wastes increases maintenance costs by 10% to 15%, amounting to around 230 million euros annually across Spain.
The Community of Madrid’s Canal Isabel II has invested more than 5 million euros every year in this fight, including cleaning pumps, removing and safely transporting waste, working on spills and replacing damaged equipment. “If everyone in the country threw away their toiletries in a paper box, we could avoid a $1 million bill,” the public company explains.
The Community of Madrid’s Canal Isabel II has invested more than 5 million euros each year in this fight, including cleaning pumps, removing and safely transporting waste, spill costs and replacing damaged equipment.
16,000 kilometers of underground network
More than 16,000 kilometers of sanitary networks are hidden in Madrid’s geological formations, creating a maze of tunnels that circulate both wastewater from households and industry and rainwater that collects during storms. When flooding is severe, the system is forced to release excess flow directly into natural reservoirs.
In that case, another risk arises. If the network is loaded with solid waste, it may reach the river without being purified. In such cases, maras, rejas, and other containment systems installed at more than 300 existing relief sites in the region serve to reduce the impact of the spill. But engineers have made it clear that these measures are palliative, not preventive.
Frequently asked questions
Intimate hygiene products that cannot be removed without odor
Bath amenities
tampon
condom
compress
stick
Los Otros Nemigos de la Red de Alcantarirado
Coryrus
gum
paper
can
scholarship
hairball
Remember
Only toilet paper inside the vacuum cleaner.
environmental threats
It rained heavily in the morning, all day, and for a week. Bags filled with toiletries, chewing gum, paper, bottles, cans, wrappers, or pet deposits dragged into the rushing water can quickly obstruct your roof or pump system. During storm events, when the red threshold is reached, residual water can flow untreated into rivers and streams. The impact extends beyond the water itself: Microplastics from hygiene products eventually find their way into the natural water cycle. Images of creatures floating on the surface of rivers and lakes are not anecdotal. It reflects a system full of sources of misuse and everyday civility.
it’s in our hands
To raise awareness and prevent thousands of tons of waste from reaching the sanitation network. This indicates the purpose of the campaign launched under the title Isabel II Canal. Place the towel inside the paper towel. Through videos, announcements and actions, this initiative seeks to remind us that eradicating pollution from our rivers is a shared responsibility, and that paper machines can make a decisive difference to this situation. The motto of taste and visual appeals to our daily actions. Play cleanly.
The campaign “Empesta las toallitas en la papelera” launched by Canal Isabel II aims to instill awareness and prevent these thousands of tons of waste from reaching the sanitary network.
In situations where public infrastructure is working at its limits, citizen prevention is the most powerful tool. “Detention systems and purifiers are the last shield,” they say from Canal. “But the real difference in household efficiency is every time an odorless substance is emitted.” Because every euro invested in removing solid waste from roofs will not go towards improving infrastructure, digitizing networks and strengthening warehouse monitoring. And above all, it is proof that technology cannot replace citizen action.
As cities aim to become more resilient and sustainable, the way small businesses do business is also changing. Not throwing people at someone else’s door is perhaps the simplest and most effective action citizens can take to protect the critical systems that quietly function beneath our feet.
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