Avoiding Fatbergs

Fats, Oils and Greases

Waste cooking oil, food scraps, coffee grounds and foodstuffs containing fat and grease cause blockages if they go down the plughole. Stopping FOG going down your sink can help keep bathing water clean.

Avoiding Fatbergs!

One way to ensure clog free sinks and drains is by properly disposing of all fats, oils and grease after cooking your meal. Pouring fats, oils and grease (FOG) down the kitchen sink can cause drain and sewer clogs that will block the flow of waste water from your home to the sewage treatment works. FOG mixes with other food waste and wet wipes and congeals and hardens in the pipes.

If clogs occur, this yukky waste water can overflow into your home, garden, street or road and into local waterways.

Don’t create a fatburg… wipe pans with kitchen paper before you wash them up and save up used cooking oil to take to your nearest household recycling centre.

A real life fatburg!

Waste Cooking Oil

Waste cooking oil, that’s vegetable based oils that are liquid at room temperature, can be collected and poured, once cooled into an empty bottle. This can then be taken to your nearest HOUSEHOLD RECYCLING CENTRE to be recycled. This creates renewable energy, one litre provides enough energy to make 240 cups of tea! Fancy a brew?!

Cooking Fat

A common error is for people to wash up a cooking pan or tray or saucepan without wiping and scraping excess fat first. You should pour the excess fats into a suitable old container and remove once cooled and place the resulting solid fats into your food waste bin. This fat if deposited in the food waste bin, is recycled into fertiliser and energy!

Food Scraps, Dairy and Sauces

Other common misconceptions are items such as coffee grounds, yoghurts, cream, gravy, salad dresssings, cheese and food scraps washing off plates. Many of these fatty foodstuffs will congeal and mix with other fats and oils and cause blockages. Again, if this waste can’t be avoided, all this can be scraped out of the container or plate and put into the food waste bin to be recycled.

Past campaigns

From May 2018 – March 2020 Litter Free Coast and Sea (LFCS) ran a campaign aiming to reduce the amount of Fats Oils and Grease (FOG) from going down the drains in Swanage through behavioural change with residents and businesses.

The Swanage ‘Love our Beach’ project was a focused campaign with the aim to reduce sewage pollution incidents by reducing blockages in the drainage system caused by FOG in kitchens and wet wipes and other items incorrectly flushed down the toilet. Attention was also to be given to other ways people can ‘love their beach’ and look after bathing water quality by reducing litter and waste.