Thames Water is stepping up its fight against fatbergs by launching a campaign to encourage food outlets to effectively manage waste fats, oils and grease.

Specialists from the water company are to visit food outlets across London and the Thames Valley to give free advice on disposing of fat and oil responsibly.

The campaign will mainly target restaurants and fast food retailers, off the back of research carried out over the last two years in Oxford. Results revealed 95% of food establishments visited were contributing to sewer blockages by having inadequate or no kitchen grease management.

Now Thames Water’s dedicated network protection team will be visiting food outlets in fatberg hotspots to investigate their current grease management and inform them about responsibly disposing of waste fats, oils and grease to help reduce blockages and flooding. Target areas have been identified from blockage data and the team will be operating across the entire Thames Water area.

 Thames Water’s head of waste networks Steve Spencer said:

“There’s a clear link between our fatberg hotspots and high concentrations of food outlets, so it’s important we do all we can to help. We found most owners in the Oxford pilot didn’t realise the consequences of their actions and were very willing to work with us to keep fat out of the sewers.”

 “The fat doesn’t just affect our pipes but can also block private internal pipes before reaching the main sewer. Whether it’s our pipes or a customer’s that are affected, this can lead to properties being flooded with sewage which is horrible for anyone. For a food outlet, it’s clearly a risk to their business.”

 Only five per cent of the businesses surveyed in Oxford had the correct-sized grease traps installed and properly maintained. The traps, which fit to sinks and separate solid fats and oils from water to prevent them entering the sewers, protect the public sewer network and private pipes, and result in less disruption through deep underground repairs and maintenance.

 During the visits, food outlet owners and managers will be provided with leaflets and posters explaining how they can dispose of fats, oils and grease safely and reminded of their legal obligations to avoid putting the wrong things down the drain. Thames Water hopes to work with businesses to reduce blockages, however the company says it would consider cost recovery and prosecution in extreme cases as a last resort.

The water company clears around 85,000 blockages a year from its 108,000 km sewer network.