Beware the Fatberg! Coming to a sewer near you!

Yesterday it was revealed that a 90-tonne fatberg was discovered lurking in the sewers underneath Liverpool. This isn’t some monster from the deep, it’s a result of what we flush down the toilet.

Fatbergs are blockages of congealed fats, oils and greases and, most troubling of all, wet wipes.

This 84-metre monster is the biggest of its kind to be found in the North West and could be coming to a sewer near you if we don’t take care of what we flush down the toilet.

The Liverpool fatberg is a reminder that we should not be pouring fats, oils and greases down drains and we should never flush sanitary products or wet wipes down the toilet. Not only can this impact on our sewage system, but it can also have a big environmental impact and can harm our beaches and wildlife.

It is important to remember that our individual actions at home, even far away from the coast, can impact on our beaches.

Emily Parr, Fylde BeachCare and LOVEmyBEACH Officer says: “It is a daily occurrence that LOVEmyBEACH volunteers find multiple used wet wipes during beach cleans. It is quite staggering to see that they remain completely intact despite their journey through the drainage system or even their time out at sea. This is because wet wipes are actually made from plastic and therefore do not break down.

“In order to avert a monster fatberg coming to other areas in the North West, we would encourage everyone to bin their used wet wipes, rather than flush them down the toilet. The only things that should be flushed are the 3P’s – pee, poo and paper – and everything else should be binned to keep sewers as clear as possible.”

For more information on how you can make small changes to have a big impact on our beaches, visit: www.lovemybeach.org

Or get involved and join the conversation on Twitter at #binit4beaches.