Fight the 'fatbergs' - South West Water urges customers to not drain grease down the sink

Christmas Day might be over - but across our region, we're still being warned to be wary of tipping things down the sink that really shouldn't be going down there.

It's as South West Water is reminding customers over the festive period to help 'fight off fatbergs' by preventing cooking fats, oils and greases from going down the sink.

According to the water company, they say just one medium-sized turkey can produce up to 3/4 of a pint of fat.

If that liquid is tipped down the sink, it could potentially cause blockages as the fat cools down.

The water company, which serves nearly 1,000,000 households across Cornwall, Devon and Somerset, says the equivalent of fat if every one was to tip turkey grease down the sink would equate to 2,800 bathtubs - or over 420,000 litres.

South West Water’s Director of Wastewater Recovery, Treatment and Networks, Guy Doble, said: “Don’t let the fat from your festive feast ruin your Christmas by causing blockages and fatbergs. Think about your sink over the seasonal period, and at all times, and don’t dispose of cooking fats, oils and greases down the drain.

“Tens of thousands of litres of waste fat, cooking oil and grease are poured down sinks in the South West each year along with food waste which can build up in pipes.

“These mix with wrongly flushed items such as wet wipes, hygiene wipes, cleaning wipes, cleansing pads and sanitary products causing blocked sewers which can lead to flooding in your homes and in the environment.

“Every year we deal with around 8,500 blocked sewers across our region, around one every hour and these can increase the risk of flooding and damage to customers’ homes and properties.

“So don’t let fat spoil the festivities this Christmas and play your part by only flushing the 3Ps – pee, paper and poo – down the loo, and avoid pouring fats, oils and greases down your sink.”

Only three years ago, South West Water found this fatberg - said to be Devon's largest at 64 metres long:

South West Water's 'Top Tips'

For the 2022 festive season, the water company are once again reiterating their campaign to keep the pipes free of blockages.

You can avoid a foul festive season by following their top tips for easy steps to stop the block:

• Scrape - Scrape food scraps and fat off your plates and into your bin or food waste recycling.
• Collect - Use a container or Gunk Pot to collect cooled fats, oils and grease from roasting trays and frying pans. Put a sink strainer over the plughole to prevent any leftover bits going down the sink.
• Wipe - Give plates and pans a quick wipe with kitchen roll or newspaper to remove any liquid fat or grease before putting in the sink or dishwasher, or use kitchen foil.
• Empty or recycle - Empty your full container or Gunk Pot into your kitchen bin, then wipe it out with kitchen roll ready to reuse.

The water company say in its region alone over 200,000 wet wipes find their way into the sewage network each day - adding to the thousands of yearly callouts their teams have to attend.

Each year the water company removes around 450 tonnes of 'unflushables' (wet wipes, sanitary products and cotton pads) from pumping stations, the equivalent of 73 million wet wipes and 30 double decker buses.

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