“Please DON’T pour your waste cooking oil and fats down the drain”. That’s the message from Gloucestershire County Council this Christmas.
Oil and fats, even in liquid form and washed down the drain with very hot soapy water can cause blockages. It may not block your own drainpipe but when they hit the main sewerage system they cool down and solidify. The resulting residue mounts up and eventually causes blockages, which can eventually cause waste water to back up and pour out of sewers, drain holes and even into your own home! More than 25% of sewer flooding is the direct result of fats, oils and grease being poured directly down kitchen sinks. According to Severn Trent there is a marked increase in cases over the festive period. The only way to resolve these blockages is expensive high pressure jetting and millions of pounds of damage every year is caused by flooding!
Cllr Stan Waddington, Cabinet member for environment, said, “Everyone can do their bit to help keep the drains clear and prevent flooding this Christmas by disposing of your cooking fat, oil and grease responsibly. No one wants to suffer the consequences of raw sewage flooding their gardens, driveways or, worse still, their home.”
Gloucestershire County Council recommends the following methods to dispose of fat, oil and grease responsibly:-
• Put hot cooking fat in a suitable container and allow it to solidify. Put solid fat and grease in a container and place it in your general rubbish sack or bin.
• If you have a separate collection of food waste from your local council, solid fat and grease (provided it is ‘loose’ and not within a container) can be included in the caddies and bins provided for the collection of your food waste.
• Take your used cooking oil in a suitable container to one of the County Council’s Household Recycling Centres. The cooking oil is recycled into biodiesel.
Find out more at www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/fightthefog
see the full press release fight the fat this christmas
