Northumbrian Water Bin The Wipe (Year 10 Work Experience)

A group of year 10 students engaged in a two-day workplace experience at Northumbrian Water (NWL).

On day one, students met a range of NWL employees and explored the main functions of the business. Students discovered that over 60% of drain blockages are caused by people flushing wipes down the toilet.

On day two, students were asked to solve a real-life business challenge by developing a campaign to inform teenagers about the problems caused by flushing wipes. Students then presented their ideas to NWL’s Head of Wastewater Network.

To help address the problem of wipes being flushed instead of binned, NWL have developed a range of innovative wipe-catching devices. Students were asked to come up with names for these new devices. The winning names were Sparta and Titan.

Over the two days, students were able to develop and demonstrate a range of essential skills including problem solving, creativity, teamwork and communication. They also gained an understanding of how their schools subjects link to the world of work. This included underground mapping (Geography), the use of data (Maths), developing a campaign (English and Business) and the waste disposal process (Science).

More information on Bin the Wipe can be found at: https://www.nwl.co.uk/binthewipe