15-ton "fatberg" removed from London sewer

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wfgodot

wfgodot

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'Bus-Sized' Lump Of Fat Called A 'Fatberg' Discovered In London Sewer. (Gawker)
Warning: This is one of those stories that will be disgusting, but also kinda fascinating. Tune in at your own risk. Municipal officials in London say they have removed the largest lump of fat ever recorded in Britain from a sewer under the city. It is the size of a bus. A bus!

The local utility, Thames Water, says the 15-ton "fatberg" (their word, not mine, dear God this is so awful) was actually blocking sewage flow from houses in southwest London. The mass was made of fat and wet wipes. Workers discovered it after residents complained they were unable to flush their toilets.

The fatberg was so big that it actually damaged the sewer lines, which will take weeks to replace and repair.
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Click to expand...
more, with reader comments, at link above; it was the size of a double-decker bus, actually, according to another report I read
 
Lol. Fatberg.

Is that what makes the sewage stink up the entire city here I wonder? It gets really bad. I see crews working on what they call "the main lines", wonder if they are removing all the deposited fat and other things that even I do not really want to know about. Must be a horrible job, good pay and benefits, but I would not be able to do it for 60 seconds, much less an entire day. (I have been told that there are horrible things in the city water pipes. Bleck.)
 
Just curious.....what do you guys do with your fat rather than putting it in the drain? I seldom have to drain fat but when I do I put it down the garbage disposal. I can see where draining fat down drains is not a good idea but what else do you do with it?

:truce:
 
Save a container, or even just wait until it cools and put it into 2 plastic left over grocery bags, (or in the container, can or jar) and into the trash it goes. Don't cook much with fat anymore, but that is how I have handled it.

There is more fat than just cooking fat going into the sewage though. If it goes in, it has to come out. :sick:
 
You're supposed to put it into a container (such as the jug you bought the oil in) and throw it away. Or recycle, or get a biodiesel engine.
 
So this is cooking lard? Not like actual people fat, right?
 
Oddly, Daily Mail had an article about the serial killer Dennis Nilsen's Muswell Hill, London, flat being up for sale today. Nilsen attempted to dispose a victim he'd killed and cut up there by flushing pieces down the toilet. That would have been "people fat."
 
lost indie said:
Just curious.....what do you guys do with your fat rather than putting it in the drain? I seldom have to drain fat but when I do I put it down the garbage disposal. I can see where draining fat down drains is not a good idea but what else do you do with it?

:truce:
Click to expand...

I don't think it was the fat and grease that created the clog. More likely it was the nappies and tampons. It says 'wet wipes' but I don't think so.
 
wfgodot said:
Oddly, Daily Mail had an article about the serial killer Dennis Nilsen's Muswell Hill, London, flat being up for sale today. Nilsen attempted to dispose a victim he'd killed and cut up there by flushing pieces down the toilet. That would have been "people fat."
Click to expand...

This was my first thought, how much is left over and how many more.

Guess we read here too much!
 
TrackerSam said:
I don't think it was the fat and grease that created the clog. More likely it was the nappies and tampons. It says 'wet wipes' but I don't think so.
Click to expand...

‘Flushable’ Wipes Clog Ocean City’s Sewer System

http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2013/07/28/flushable-wipes-clog-ocean-citys-sewer-system/

Flushable Wipes Causing Problems with Sanitary Sewer

http://www.wyomingmn.org/index.asp?Type=B_PR&SEC={3AE12D5C-D938-4CF7-BE44-5FF3FD6A03C7}&DE={69C6ECFE-423A-46D4-BF89-154A38BD992F}

“Flushable” wipes causing problems for Thiensville sewer system


http://fox6now.com/2013/01/15/flushable-wipes-causing-problems-for-thiensville-sewer-system/

Wipes in the pipes snarling sewers

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/07/16/wipes-pollution/2522919/
 
People aren't supposed to put any fat into a drain. My mom always poured any fat into a tin can and placed it in the fridge to solidify and then put into the trash. I do this too.

I've seen a few restaurant owners get in trouble in Toronto for pouring their grease into a sewer grate in their back alley. They were fined. I wonder if this is what was happening to cause this in London.
 
I argue with my husband on this. He grew up in the country, with a septic system that got professionally flushed as needed. (he says maybe 3 times in the all the years his family lived there.) I grew up in the city and where they ran PSAs on the tv about Never Ever dump oil, grease, fat, whatever down the drain because it clogs the sewers. A few weeks ago, we had a clog that we couldn't flush, even with liquid plumber so we had to call our manager to send out a plumber. He had a talk with my hubster who's been a lot more careful about it. I was all "nope, I'm not the grease dumper! I'm the Grease Pourer Into a Tin Can and Toss It Out-er."
 
I use a small (maxwell house) coffee can w/plastic lid. I put all excess grease from cooking in it then just chuck it out when full. I buy the small cans when they are on sale to have as a back up and for grease. :)
 
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