A new awareness month and national campaign has launched to help save marine life from plastic pollution and prevent fatbergs from damaging the sewer network.

Unblocktober, led by Lanes Group - the UK’s largest privately-owned drainage and utility contractor – the British public to make small changes to their kitchen and bathroom habits for the calendar month of October in order to protect the environment.

In just under a month, closed pre-registration has already seen over 1,000 people sign up to take part. The campaign, promoted by a dedicated website, is also seeking support from businesses, including water utility companies.

Products Unblocktober participants will commit to refrain from putting down their sinks or loos:include:

• Cooking oil - pre or post-cooking
• Margarine
• Butter
• Lard
• Cooking sauces and condiments
• Food - even crumbs
• Wet wipes
• Sanitary products
• Nappies
• Condoms
• Cotton buds
• Bandages and plasters
• Dental floss

Michelle Ringland, Head of Marketing at Lanes Group, said:

“When fats, oils and grease (FOG) such as the above are poured down the drain, they collect in the sewers and begin to harden into big congealed masses - commonly known as ‘fatbergs’ - that cause serious blockages. Lanes Group itself works on between 400-600 fatberg-related drainage issues each month, including the ‘monster’ Whitechapel fatberg in 2017, which weighed 130 tonnes and was 250 metres long.”

Such blockages often lead to flooding, pollution and, potentially, public health problems when foul water ends up on streets and in homes.

The problem is further compounded when items that contain plastic and other non-biodegradable materials are flushed down toilets. This causes fatbergs to grow even bigger, and also ultimately leads to plastic pollution in our rivers, seas, oceans and watercourses.

In a national survey, the company found that 48% of the nation pour fats, oils and grease (FOG) down their drains, while 48% have flushed wet wipes labelled as ‘flushable’ down the toilet. In addition, according to Southern Water, more than 3,000 homes are flooded in the UK every year because of FOG blockages and fatbergs, while £90 million is spent annually clearing fatbergs.

Michelle Ringland continued:

“Unblocktober is the awareness month that the environment needs right now. By taking part and changing their kitchen and bathroom habits very slightly for a month, the British public can help solve two critical problems: the millions of tonnes of plastic being dumped into watercourses and the environmental and structural damage caused by sewer blockages.”

Participants can sign up and find more information at www.unblocktober.org.