Businesses join forces to fight the festive fat

Each year, thousands of sewer blockages are caused by people pouring cooking fat, oil and grease (FOG), down their kitchen sinks

North West water company United Utilities is teaming up with supermarkets Sainsbury’s and Waitrose and water companies across the UK to encourage customers not to cause pains in the drain this Christmas.

Each year, thousands of sewer blockages are caused by people pouring cooking fat, oil and grease (FOG), down their kitchen sinks. These blockages can lead to flooding inside homes and businesses and are expensive to clear - money that could be saved on customers’ bills.

United Utilities is now working with the two retailers to give away 200 fat traps and 11,700 fat funnels to people buying their turkey or roast from Waitrose, or ordering online from Sainsbury’s this Christmas, contributing to more than 200,000 across the UK. The traps and funnels can be used to collect waste FOG for recycling or disposal via the bin.

Tony Griffiths, a United Utilities Wastewater Network Manager said: "Fat and grease cause more than half the sewer blockages we deal with every year. At Christmas, the volume of cooking fat entering the sewers goes up dramatically - which can spell big headaches for our engineers, and for households.

"When the fat cools, it hardens, clogging pipes and causing wastewater to spill out into streets, streams, rivers and even homes and gardens. And it's not just our sewer pipes that suffer. Household pipes can get blocked too, resulting in hefty bills.

"We're advising all our customers to use the free fat-trap or simply pour their fat and oil into a container, and once cooled, scrape it out into the bin. It's the surest way to avoid a messy and expensive Christmas."

Paul Crewe, Head of Sustainability for Sainsbury’s, commented: “We’re proud to be distributing over 130,000 fat traps and funnels nationwide this year. As well as keeping Britain’s waste water network flowing, the cooking oil and fat captured from your roast this Christmas could be turned into bio-fuel to power vehicles."

Quentin Clark, Waitrose’s Head of Sustainability and Ethical Sourcing, added: “Fat in the sewers is a big problem, particularly at this time of year. Here at Waitrose, we are committed to supporting local communities and helping to reduce this problem across the country.

“By encouraging our customers to use our free fat-traps, we can dramatically cut the percentage of damage caused to drains by fat, oil and grease”

Sarah Mukherjee, Director of Environment, Water UK, said: “Getting together over a meal with family and friends is a great part of the festive season - but all that cooking produces fats and oil that can block your drains.

"The effects of a blocked drain or sewer on people’s homes can be horrendous. But in most cases sewer blockages are avoidable just by being careful about what we put down the sink or the loo.

“This Christmas, it will really help lighten the load on the system if you make use of the fat traps, funnels and other items that are on offer in shops and supermarkets, to keep fats, grease and oil out of drains and sewers.”

Raksha Pattni, Area Director for North West Business in the Community, said “We are delighted to be part of this initiative. It clearly shows how business collaboration can deliver practical results that are good for business and help us all to live more sustainably while create wider value for society. This is a great example of how businesses can work together to drive positive change towards a sustainable and prosperous future for themselves and the communities they serve.”

Free fat traps will be available, while stocks last, at participating Waitrose stores. Sainsbury’s will be sending out 130,000 fat traps and funnels with online deliveries. Terms and conditions apply.