Think Before You Flush!

Not Geography Geography Lesson 18

Can We Turn Our Fat Into Fuel?

When I was very little, I flushed all of the household flannels down the toilet. They blocked the drain (shocker) and my very unamused dad had to fish them out. A few years later, I also disposed of a variety of items that my tiny sticky hands could reach from the worktop, including some keys. Obviously, flushing things down the toilet and dropping them down drains is very bad for the plumbing and the sanity of your parents, but it is also kinda fun when you are small and can throw whatever you want in there and watch it be sucked down to disappear before your eyes. Magic! I have since shed my habit, but apparently I am not the only one who has indulged in some inappropriate flushing - as much to their horror, workmen for Thames Water this week found a 'monster fatberg' hiding in the sewer under London's Whitechapel. 

More Than A Few Gold Fish

I think it is fair to assume that anyone working a job which requires them to regularly examine the sewers of the capital probably has a pretty strong stomach. But I think it also fair to assume that anyone unfortunate enough to come across something described as a 'monster fatberg' will probably be reacquainted with their lunch sooner than they would have a liked. 

The 'berg is described as being 250m long, which is 10m longer than Tower Bridge, and weighs 130 tonnes, or the equivalent of 19 African elephants. It is a vile amalgamation of thousands of baby wipes, waste oil from restaurants and kitchens, and a whole host of other things that don't belong down there. There are probably more goldfish in there than in an entire Pets At Home. Because the pipe is actually quite narrow, all the gunk has spread out like the world's worst spaghetti. Anyone out there moaning about their girlfriend/wife/housemate's hair in drain needs to thank their lucky stars they don't work for Thames Water.

How Do You Tackle Such A Thing?

Apparently Thames Water already spend £1m per month (!!!) removing various disgusting things from London's sewers - fat bergs, shoes, toaster, alligators, you name it it's probably down there. For this extra special case, teams kitted out in protective suits are working with high-pressure water jets and shovels to chip away at the berg. The revolting pieces will then be sent for recycling at a facility in Stratford; I bet they will be over the moon when that delivery hoves into view. 

Well That's Disgusting - Anything Else?

Actually yes! There may be some kind of sliver-lining to this cloud, because Thames Water have joined forces with renewable energy firm Argent, to look into the possibility of turning their regular shipments of rancid congealed fat and make-up wipes into something useful for society. Hint: it is not filling really really naughty children's stockings with it for Christmas; although I know some kids who would really benefit from this... 

It is in fact, separating out the wipes and the goldfish and the other random paraphernalia, and using the remaining fat to produce bio-fuel. Considering the enormous quantities of these fatbergs that are sucked from the sewers - up to 3 per week just in London - and the growing need for alternative sources of fuel, this could be an ingenious solution! I have heard of car owners using cooking oil in their cars before, and apparently the only ill-effect is the production of a distinctly chip-flavoured smell, but as a nation we love chips anyway, and it still probably smells better than the fatbergs. The other solution is just not whizzing all this stuff down the drain in the first place, but that would be too easy of course!

Hope you enjoyed this rather revolting topic, and I will save you from the horror of seeing the fatberg, by instead using this gif which embodies the excitement 3 year old me felt when flushing all family's possessions down the toilet.