Many of us have been practising unsustainable habits such as flushing unwanted items down the loo or pouring oil into our kitchen’s sink. Over time, these habits distress our waterways and lead to severe damages and cause fatbergs.

What happens when sewers and drains get blocked?

When sewers and drains get blocked, it causes

  • Foul waste flooding
  • Pollution
  • Plastic pollution
  • Excavation and repair, causing roadworks

What to do with food waste

Whether you are in the Food and Beverage industry, or a small office with a kitchen, you can start making a few changes that will make an impact on unblocking our sewers and waterways. Here is a small guide to help you to be a part of those changes.

Stop pouring the following items into your drains:

Cooking oil or fat

Pouring oil or fat down your drain can solidify and form blockages. If you would like to dispose of this correctly, you can transfer oils or fat into a sealable container and take it to your local recycling centre. It’s also worth wiping your pots and pans with kitchen roll and throw away any oil/fats excess in the bin before cleaning it.

Food (even the tiniest crumbs!)

Scrape any leftover food from your plates or cooking equipment before doing the dishes because many foods contain fats, oils and grease that can cause blockages very easily. These wastes solidify quickly (even after they’ve been broken down with hot water!), making it very difficult to pass through pipes.

Fats, oils and grease that you should never pour down the drain:

  • Butter
  • Cooking Oil
  • Accumulated grease after cooking in your pots and pans
  • Lard
  • Margarine
  • Sauces that contain any of the above ingredients

Dispose plastics correctly

As we all know, plastic is not biodegradable. Plastic will not break down by microorganisms and it can pollute our water, land and air if the plastics are not disposed correctly. Furthermore, as plastics always end up or dumped into our ocean, this put marine lives in danger as they may mistake plastic for food, or they get tangled with plastics.

To do this, recycle items that are non-biodegradable. What is considered as plastics?:

  • Nappies
  • Sanitary pads/towels
  • Contact lenses
  • Bandages and Plasters
  • Dental floss
  • Paper cups
  • Teabags
  • Wet wipes 
  • Chewing gum
  • Condoms
  • Cotton buds (approximately 180 million cotton buds are flushed down our toilet each year!)

If you’re unsure whether the items can be flushed, look out for the fine to flush sign on the packaging or just Bin it!

For more information please visit https://www.unblocktober.org/