Hunter Water’s anti-fatberg campaign has been honoured with an award. 

The increase in household use of toilet paper, tissues, wipes and paper towel amid the outbreak of COVID-19 had an immediate impact on Hunter Water’s wastewater systems, as an increasing number of fatbergs were removed from treatment plants.

The authority says it was forced to educate its customers on how to prevent unnecessary blockages.

It launched the highly-successful Respect the Throne campaign to explain that flushing the wrong items down the toilet could have a negative environmental and financial impact on individual residents, as well as wastewater systems.

Hunter Water's Respect the Throne campaign has received a Highly Commended at an annual awards night for creating genuine conversation and behavioural change.

The campaign was nominated for 'Best COVID-19 Response' ahead of the 2021 Mumbrella CommsCon Awards in Sydney.

Hunter Water’s campaign was up against big-hitters including Domino's Pizza, Mango Communications for McDonald's Australia, and eventual winners the Woolworths Group.

Hunter Water Executive Manager Customer Services, Keiran Smith, said Respect the Throne created genuine conversation and behavioural change around a previously uninteresting topic.

“We’re honoured to be nominated for this award and I’m proud of our team’s work in conceptualising, developing and effectively executing the Respect the Throne campaign in just a six-week window,” Mr Smith said.

“After one month of airing, Respect the Throne was the quickest and most recalled Hunter Water campaign message, with over 50 per cent of our customers surveyed having seen the campaign.

“Prior to Respect the Throne, only 73 per cent of those surveyed knew what was okay to flush down the toilet. However, this grew by 20 per cent after the campaign, with the majority changing their behaviour on what they flush.”