Nine out of 10 London restaurants and takeaways are failing to prevent the food, grease and oil that can cause “fatbergs” in sewers from entering drains, according to research by utility company Thames Water. On the capital’s Whitechapel Road, where a 130-tonne fatberg was discovered last month, no outlet had a working grease trap. The report also found that more than half of London’s food outlets failed to have an effective system for removing grease, which is often used as fertiliser or pesticide. Outlets lacking systems for disposing of fat will be visited again and may face prosecution if changes have not been implemented.
Nine out of 10 London restaurants and takeaways are failing to prevent the food, grease and oil that can cause “fatbergs” in sewers from entering drains, according to research by utility company Thames Water. On the capital’s Whitechapel Road, where a 130-tonne fatberg was discovered last month, no outlet had a working grease trap. Fatbergs, which cost water companies millions of pounds per year, occur when unflushable items congeal with fats and oils inside pipes. Outlets lacking systems for disposing of fat will be visited again and may face prosecution if changes have not been implemented.