Effort underway to remove tons of fat from London’s sewers

By Agence France-Presse
Tuesday, July 13, 2010 20:54 EST
Print
 
 

A team of workers sporting breathing apparatus and carrying shovels has started clearing around 1,000 tonnes of fat from sewers around London’s Leicester Square, a water company said Tuesday.

Cooking fat being poured down drains under one of the city’s main tourist attractions is thought to be causing blockages.

Leicester Square borders London’s Chinatown and its bustling restaurants and cafes, as well as the West End and Soho entertainment districts.

The clean-up, which could take up to two months, is described as the biggest ever of its kind by Thames Water, the firm organising it.

Danny Brackley, one of those involved in the clean-up, said they could not even access the sewers at first as they were blocked by a four foot (1.2 metre) thick wall of solid fat.

“Cooking fat down drains is a big ‘no no’,” Brackley said.

“As soon as it is poured away, it cools down quickly and sets hard, forming a solid obstruction.”

Agence France-Presse
Agence France-Presse
AFP journalists cover wars, conflicts, politics, science, health, the environment, technology, fashion, entertainment, the offbeat, sports and a whole lot more in text, photographs, video, graphics and online.
Share this story >>
Print
 
 
 
By commenting, you agree to our terms of service
and to abide by our commenting policy.
 
  • oktoss

    Send it over here – Rush Limbaugh will eat it. He looks like he's getting a little low on fat.

  • glenn_uk

    We always said the Big City was living so well from the fat of the land. Well, there it is.

  • tmikellongbrake

    Ugh! Think of what fat does inside your body!

  • MadTom

    So — they found Rush Limbaugh, did they?

  • http://profiles.yahoo.com/u/GMONWJ5YEAUTI3MIRGEWG66WSE gillaroo

    Not exactly the fat of the land.

  • scytherius

    Cue the dude from, “Dirtiest Jobs”.

  • dennycrane

    Ha ha ha ha ha. But the image of that is disgusting.

  • dennycrane

    Just his kids.

  • SynGas

    That could be fuel, don't waste it.

  • dennycrane

    Can you just imagine what our 100-200 year old sewer infrastructure is like? Our, so-called “clean” water system is a joke.

  • dennycrane

    It's a wonder he isn't eating this:

    http://motherjones.com/politics/2010/07/texas-g…

  • rustyhoundog

    What ever happened to the health rules for restaurants? Even the mess halls all had grease traps. It reads like a bunch of idiots are running London!

  • MadTom

    I didn't know Republicans reproduced like that when they did a Number Two.

    But — yeah, it makes perfect sense, now that I think about it.

  • MadTom

    One thing I'm grateful to my ex for — she taught me not to pour grease or throw onion skins down the disposall.

  • hneftafl

    I once worked at a seafood restaurant. We would dump the used grease in a container and some cosmetics company would pick it up each week. Perhaps British women don't wear much makeup, but those here in the States just plaster it on. Welp, ladies, now you know where it comes from.

  • billos

    Don't forget soap and toothpaste.

  • VJBinCT

    Please see Terry Pratchett’s ‘The Fifth Elephant’ for details. Metaphor, but kinda close here/

  • indi_progressive

    That stuff will run WIllie Nelson's bio-diesel grease bus for the rest of his life!

  • christoofar

    Sounds like a fun gig..not.

  • Horus45

    Not animal fat, only vegetable fats can be used in a bio-diesel.
    Vegetable fats would not have solidified in the sewer, they stay liquid unless they are Emulsified or Saponified.

  • Horus45

    Did you know that the sparkle in cosmetics is made from seagull poop?
    Seagull poop is full of fish scales and it is ground up to be used in cosmetics.
    Another Cosmetic ingredient is Allantoin which is made from Maggot urine.

    My career in science began in a cosmetics company.

  • Horus45

    Or banana peels!

  • Horus45

    Probably because Britain's sewers were built before such a thing as a grease trap.
    Their sewers are over 150 years old, they were built in 1859.
    Before that the Thames was an open sewer.

  • Horus45

    London's is 151 years old.

  • rustyhoundog

    Mess halls, that's as in each building. Grease traps are relatively small and attached to the drain pipes in each building that would, in the course of daily business, deposit fats and greases into the drains. That way remedies such as that shown in the picture would not be required.
    Households do not generate such volumes of grease that it cannot be handled by a normal flow of waste water. Each company must provide traps for their drains.
    It's called the private enterprise system and it requires common regulation from the towns.

  • rustyhoundog

    Henry the eighth regulated the open sewers in London. That makes the regulated sewers of London at least 400 years old. In reality, the sewers were placed underground and connected, that is, out of sight, starting in 1860. The project was not completed until 1875. The effluents still flowed untreated into The River Thames, just at a small remove from town.
    Out of sight, out of mind!

  • MYMY

    We throw used paper towels into whatever fat is left in a frying or roasting pan, then toss it and the absorbed grease into the garbage.

  • rustyhoundog

    comment removed

  • cessnadriver

    McDonalds stock just went up.

  • cessnadriver

    Jobs like that are the reason why I went to college.

  • cessnadriver

    A young woman I dated when I was young got mad at me because I told her how they got the salt inside of the peanuts. She preferred to think that it was magic!

  • motelcalifornia

    Definite proof that British arteries are only half-way open. The rest of it is really cholesterol

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Eric-Van-Bezooijen/1237106 Eric Van Bezooijen

    They should sell it to the Chinese. Let's not forget that according to a recent article, 10% of Chinese cooking oil was extracted from sewage. Yum yum!

  • Simon2963

    I know that these guys http://www.londongreasetraps.com do great work in and around London sorting out the oil and grease!

  • http://h2obeta.law.harvard.edu/viewProfile.do?userId=654688&message=saveUserImage.success attiveevola

    viagra for women information,viagra abuse 345)()(

  • http://www.jewcy.com/user/26820/buy_viagra_online attiveevola

    viagra online without prescription,viagra buy uk 345)()(

  • http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lipitor-cost-Lipitor-side-effects-lipitor-generic/129289997121810 attiveevola
  • http://196.41.26.120/smf/index.php?action=profile;u=2289;sa=summary##imageoverlayads Image overlay ads

    Hello people! :) I’m questioning if an individual may possibly assist me out! Actually I desire to watch this page with my brand-new iPad, nonetheless it does not present up correctly, So I used to be pondering if an individual can suggest me any optimal answer? I do not know but must I try and come across out an update for my application system or something else? I realize this is one thing kinda off the topic, but please update me and thanks much in advance for the aid! Sophie :)

  • http://www.arthan.pl meble mlodziezowe

    Sorry for the huge review, but I’m really loving the new Zune, and hope this, as well as the excellent reviews some other people have written, will help you decide if it’s the right choice for you.

  • http://www.colognole.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1644 how to get your ex girlfriend back

    If you’re still on the fence: grab your favorite earphones, head down to a Best Buy and ask to plug them into a Zune then an iPod and see which one sounds better to you, and which interface makes you smile more. Then you’ll know which is right for you.

  • http://www.wretch.cc/blog/usdpizza 活動攝影

    Hi blog owner, hope all is well. You mind sharing the name of your current theme? I would appreciate it much. Have a blessed afternoon. Check out mine 活動攝影 if you are interested !

  • http://zagdesignz.com/dreamweaver_tutorials/index.php?topic=4533.new#new get ur ex back

    Hello ok Jim ,Have been a tea and coffee addict, enjoy the scent as well as the flavor of tea as the very first thing after waking up. I drink minimum five cups every 24 hours. BTW lovely blog, Hope you have a good day.