Flip It Toss It, But Don't Pour It

15 February 2010 15:02

It’s Pancake Tuesday, and NI Water is calling on all pancake experts to ensure that after they flip and toss their pancakes, they don’t pour the remaining Fat, Oil and Grease (FOG) down the sink.

NI Water’s sewers, having been put on a FOG diet from Christmas, are trying to stay ‘skinny’ and avoid being clogged up with FOG. It is easy to simply pour the excess FOG down the sink, and think ‘what harm can it do’, when in actual fact, it is causing chaos for NI Water as it can cause major blockages in the sewer line.

Gavin McCready, NI Water’s FOG expert appeals to pancake flippers to pay close attention to the disposal of their FOG:

“As fat, oil and grease cools, it solidifies; creating blockages in the sewerage system, which often result in raw sewage flooding gardens and homes. The effects of this can be devastating for you and your neighbours and costs NI Water approximately £300,000 per year to clear the blockages that occur.”

The wastewater drain which runs from each house is just 4 inches wide and only designed for human waste and toilet roll.

One way to dispose of FOG is to let it cool and solidify, and then scrape it into the rubbish bin. You can view first hand the damage FOG can cause to our sewers by viewing the following video on Youtube www.youtube.com/northernirelandwater.