Blocked drains in Scotland have gotten so bad that Scottish Water has started a new campaign to advise food business how to dispose of waste correctly.
The new campaign is led by Scottish Water which attends an average of 95 blockages every day in Scotland at a cost of £6.5m a year.
The deposits are caused by fat, oil and grease being flushed unfiltered down sinks and clogging up the sewer system.
The Fat-Free Sewer project – the first of its kind in Scotland – will see every food service establishment in the Fife town visited by waste management experts.
The general manager of Scottish Water said fatbergs were a serious and growing problem that was responsible for flooding to properties and roads and pollute rivers, as well as impacting valuable assets such as bathing waters.
This is the first time the company has proactively tried to stem the problem of blocked drains due to fat and waste.
If the project succeeds in cutting blockages due to Fog (fat, oil and grease) it is set to be rolled out to other parts of Scotland.
In Scotland, there are several laws that affect business disposing of food. It is an offence under the Sewerage (Scotland) Act 1968 to interfere with the free flow of the sewers. Under the Waste (Scotland) Regulations 2012, urban food businesses have to present food waste separately for collection.
While companies such as Scottish Water are responsible for blockages int he public sewage system, homeowners are responsible for the drains within their own property. These drains suffer from the same issues as the larger sewage system, if you regularly throw fat, oil or grease away it will gradually build up within your drains causing blockages.
At Steve Hasting Drainage we can help fix any blocked drains and have a low fixed fee for basic drain repair. We regularly cover areas such as Chorley, Preston and Blackpool
