Wipes that have been pulled from the water by a screen and scrape machine at the Newtown Creek Wastewater Resource Recovery Center.
Photographer: David Dee Delgado/BloombergCheckout
In Fatberg Fight, NYC Goes to War Against Flushable Wipes
The $1.1 billion wipes market has taxpayers around the globe footing the bill.
One of humanity’s most private and pervasive hygiene habits is changing. And Sal Scapelito’s job is a sign that the trend may not be sustainable.
Every two minutes, the 31-year-old sewage treatment worker cleans off a five-foot-wide device designed to prevent tree branches from entering north Brooklyn’s Newtown Creek Wastewater Resource Recovery Facility.