VIDEO: Poor Waste Disposal Causes 15 Tonne Fatberg in London Sewer

Fifteen tonnes of waste fat, grease and sanitary products, which had formed the largest ‘fatberg’ ever found in the UK, has been removed from a London sewer. According to Thames Water, it first became aware of the bus-sized lump of wrongly-flushed festering food waste when residents in nearby flats complained that they couldn’t flush their toilets. CCTV investigations at the site in London Road, Kingston found the mound of fat had reduced the 70x48cm sewer to just 5% of its normal capacity. “Given we’ve got the biggest sewers [in the UK] and this is the biggest fatberg we’ve encountered, we reckon it has to be the biggest such berg in British history,” commented Gordon Hailwood, waste contracts supervisor for Thames Water. “The sewer was almost completely clogged with over 15 tonnes of fat. If we hadn’t discovered it in time, raw sewage could have started spurting out of manholes across the whole of Kingston,” he continued. Hailwood added that the berg was so big that damaged the sewer itself. As a result company said that it has begun repairs to 20 metres of damaged pipe, but that work expected to take up to six weeks to complete. Managing fatty wastes To help manage fatty wastes a consortium led by independent investment firm iCON Infrastructure is developing a 19 MW combined heat and power waste to energy facility in Beckton, East London. Once operational Thames Water has committed to provide at least half of the fuel the generator requires to run - in the form of 30 tonnes a day of fat, oil and grease ('FOG') - enough to fill a six metre long shipping container - that would otherwise clog up London’s sewers. (See WMW Story) “Homes and businesses need to change their ways,” concluded Hailwood. “When it comes to fat and wipes, please remember: ‘Bin it - don’t block it.’” A CNN report on the fatberg can be seen below. [youtube:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cn15DqemksE| Read More Recycling Food Waste into Animal Feed within the UK’s Legislative Framework Paul Featherstone, group director of SugaRich, looks at legislation and logistics to reduce the waste of former foodstuffs and instead turning them into valuable resources. 30 MW Waste to Energy Facility Secures £105m Government Funding in Wales The 30 MW Trident Park waste to energy plant currently under construction in Cardiff has secured 25 years of funding from the Welsh Government to treat residual municipal waste. INEOS Bio Begins Commercial Production of Biofuel from Wastes in Florida INEOS Bio and New Planet Energy are to begin commercial scale shipments of bioethanol produced at its Indian River Bioenergy Center which processes municipal waste at Vero Beach in Florida.]