The Truth About Fatbergs

We Brits love our fast food, with England alone having around 60,000 fast-food joints. When combined with Britain’s 27 million (and rapidly rising) households, tens of thousands of restaurants, pubs, and canteens (to be found in offices, schools, hospitals and prisons up and down the country) the massive contribution of fat, oil, and grease (FOG) waste from commercial and residential sources means that much of this FOG is a big problem. The majority of this FOG ends up in our sewers, contributing to the growing problem of fatbergs.

Fatbergs, a relatively recent phenomenon, are large masses of congealed FOG, wet wipes, and other non-biodegradable items. They form in our ageing Victorian sewers, clinging to uneven walls and gradually accumulating until they become as hard as concrete, eventually blocking the sewers that aren’t designed for modern living or the surge in population. The rise in fatbergs correlates to the increase in populated areas, the introduction of modern diets and the popularity of convenience products such as wet wipes and cotton buds.

Looking at how fatbergs are formed and analysing their contents can tell us a lot about the modern world. Their very existence tells us how our growing population with its love of fatty fast food and convenience is creating these subterranean monsters. Experts analysed the chemical components of the bergs. Some results showed that besides the caffeine and paracetamol that you might expect, there’s the cocaine and MDMA from recreational drug use and large quantities of steroids potentially coming from the 21st Century fascination with body image. 

Fatbergs have an impact on wildlife and the environment. They contribute to sewer overflows, sending raw sewage into waterways. This sewage contains toxic chemicals and bacteria that harm aquatic life. Fatbergs also contain excess nutrients that can cause algal blooms, disrupting the entire ecosystem.

Fatbergs can pose health risks. An investigation by Channel 4 and Thames Water found that fatbergs pose a serious threat to human health. Examination of a 750-metre fatberg from a London sewer revealed that it was a breeding ground for superbugs immune to antibiotics, including listeria. The investigation concluded that families could be exposed to the bugs if continued blockages force sewage back up through domestic or commercial pipes.Some contain used needles, and many harbour toxic chemicals and bacteria. They also attract rats, which can spread contamination.

Water company workers are currently responsible for finding fatbergs in our thousands of miles of sewers - no small task.

Removing fatbergs is a costly and time-consuming process. Workers use high-powered hoses and manual tools to break down the bergs. The average removal can cost around £100,000, with some costing millions. While initiatives like converting fatbergs into biofuel help offset costs, preventing them is far more effective. Costs are increasingly being passed on to food businesses deemed responsible for nearby bergs in the form of fines.

Fatbergs aren’t only an issue for the UK - they’re a global problem, occurring in densely populated areas worldwide.

The US has spent millions clearing fatbergs. Campaigns like "Trash It, Don't Flash It" aim to educate the public. Notable examples include a massive fatberg in Metro Detroit and a 140-ton blockage in Baltimore.

Wet wipes cause 80% of Australian sewer blockages. Other contributing items include condoms and sanitary products. A 1000kg fatberg was found in New South Wales, and another in Melbourne contained various debris, including tennis balls and wood.

Singapore has experienced fatberg-related blockages, though their separate wastewater system and regular cleaning mitigate the problem. Although blockages are smaller, the national water management system PUG, still attends to more than 30 obstructions every month.

Fatbergs vary in composition depending on location, but wet wipes are a consistent component. Proper waste disposal is the key to prevention. 

A study of a fatberg in Sidmouth revealed it wasn't as dangerous as expected. A team from the University of Exeter used a mix of techniques including simply extracting and identifying waste materials by sight to DNA sequencing were used to investigate. 

Previously, fatbergs had shown solid objects flushed down the toilet, human waste and FOG as the main building blocks. The moist and slightly warm conditions of the fatberg, cause harmful bacteria and other micro-organisms to get to work feeding off of all of the gory details producing serious health hazards. This means that handling a berg is usually pretty bad for your health – which is why the teams tasked with removing and studying them have to wear the full complement of health and safety gear at all times.

While the Sidmouth fatberg contained FOGs and household waste, it lacked harmful bacteria and toxic chemicals. This suggests that not all fatbergs are equally hazardous.

Sidmouth, a small town with a large retiree population, isn't a typical fatberg hotspot. The Sidmouth fatberg primarily consisted of FOGs and household waste, rather than contraceptives, recreational drugs and paraphernalia, reflecting the community's demographics. It highlights that fatbergs are essentially accumulations of FOGs and whatever gets flushed, and that their composition varies by location.

Sidmouth shows that fatbergs aren’t just a big city problem. It reminds us that this is a widespread issue and we all need to take responsibility. The most effective way to address the fatberg problem is to prevent FOGs from entering the sewer system in the first place.

While the sensationalised coverage of "monstrous" fatbergs may have captured our attention briefly, it may have also made the problem feel overwhelming and discouraged individual action. Although most people are now aware of fatbergs, the sheer scale of the problem leaves individuals feeling helpless and that their small contribution won’t make a difference. 

We need to shift our focus from the "monster" fatberg to the gradual process of its formation. Emphasising the accumulation of small contributions of FOGs and other waste can help people understand how individual actions can collectively make a difference.