#Turkeybergs to clog our sewers thanks to fat poured down kitchen sinks

By Emma Glanfield for MailOnline 16:48 24 Dec 2014, updated 10:49 25 Dec 2014

• Calls to blocked drains and sewers predicted to rise by a third over Christmas period thanks to festive cooking
• Fatbergs - dubbed 'Turkeybergs' over festive season - the size of buses are set to clog underground sewers in UK
• Revolting lumps of fat to increase over Christmas as homes pour leftover turkey and goose fat down kitchen sinks

Fatbergs the size of buses could clog sewers across the UK this Christmas as tonnes of turkey and goose fat is poured down kitchen sinks.

Calls to clogged drains and sewers are predicted to rise by a third over the festive period as thousands of homes attempt to flush fat and leftovers down their sinks.

Fatbergs – dubbed 'Turkeybergs' over the Christmas period – can measure the size of a double-decker bus or Boeing 747, and solidify in the sewers leading to foul-smelling waste and blockages.

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Calls to blocked drains and sewers are predicted to rise by a third over the Christmas period and the number of fatbergs expected to increase thanks to festive cooking and people pouring turkey and goose fat down their kitchen sinks. Pictured: A fatberg in Kingston, south London Fatbergs – dubbed 'Turkeybergs' over the Christmas period – can measure the size of a double-decker bus or Boeing 747, and solidify in the sewers leading to foul-smelling waste and blockages. Pictured: This fatberg in south London last year contained weighed 15,000 tonnes

The congealed lumps of fat are made up of waste products which cannot be broken down, including everything from solidified fat and food waste to wet wipes, sanitary products and plastic bottles.

The unsightly obstructions in the sewers cost waste companies millions of pounds every Christmas, because they have to pay workers overtime to unblock the system at short notice.

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Thames Water spends approximately £1million a month clearing fatbergs and blockages, dealing with more than 55,000 of them every year.

Dave Dennis, the sewer manager for west London, said: 'We find objects every day that should not be there. Planks of wood, plastic bottles, and the bane of our lives - wet wipes.

'They may say flushable on the packet but they don't break down inside the sewer. They cling to cooled cooking fat and form fatbergs, which block pipes and flood our customers with sewage.'

Fifteen-tonne 'fatberg' cloggs London's sewers

Thames Water spends approximately £1million a month clearing fatbergs and blockages, dealing with more than 55,000 of them every year The congealed lumps of fat are made up of waste products which cannot be broken down, including solidified fat, food waste and wet wipes

He is now pleading with people across the UK to stop using drains and kitchen sinks to pour away cooking fat.

'Please remember next time you go to throw cooking oil down the drain or wet wipes down the loo - bin it, don't block it,' he said.

WHAT EXACTLY IS A 'FATBERG'?

A 'fatberg' is a congealed lump consisting of fat, wet wipes, sanitary products and other items in sewer systems, which cannot be broken down.

They clog the underground sewer system, causing all kinds of sanitation and drainage problems, as well as blockages further up the line.

'Fatberg' is the official term given to the deposits by Thames Water in London.

Earlier this year, a fatberg the size of a Boeing 747 was discovered beneath the streets of Shepherd's Bush in west London. The blockage was made up of waste fat, wet wipes, food, tennis balls and planks of wood.

Another in Kingston, south London, was recorded as weighing 15 tonnes and was found to be a congealed lump of festering food mixed with wet wipes.

And last month, a fatberg stretching 66 feet beneath the government offices in Whitehall was discovered.

The 'berg' - one of the biggest ever to be cleared by Thames Water - was created by people throwing wet wipes and fat down drains and toilets, which then congealed into a large immovable mass.

It was stuck in the sewer at the junction of Whitehall Court and Whitehall Place in south London.

Officials examining the fatberg found nail varnish pots, a pencil sharpener, condoms, and sanitary products - all of which should not have been there.

Mr Dennis added: 'We have 67,108 miles of sewers, and that's a lot of pipe to keep clear.

'We spend £12million a year tackling blockages, most of them formed because people have tipped cooking fats down the drain and wet wipes down the loo.

'The sewers serve an important purpose - they are not an abyss for household rubbish.'

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