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A 40-tonne fatberg that weighed the same as three buses has been dislodged from a sewer pipe in Greenwich, London.
The mass of fats, wet wipes and other non-flushable items filled up to 80 per cent of the capacity of the sewer pipe and took Thames Water staff three weeks to remove. At some points workers used their hands to remove the blockage.
As the awareness campaign Unblocktober draws to a close, the health of drains, pipes, sewers, watercourses and the sea has been brought into focus.
Throughout the month-long campaign customers and participants were reminded to only dispose of the three P’s – poo, pee and paper – down toilets and drains.
Earlier this month the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) upheld a complaint against Andrex over its flushability claims of its wet wipes. The ASA ruled that only products carrying the Water UK approved ‘Fine to Flush’ logo could be labelled flushable to minimise customer confusion.
Water companies spend millions of pounds each year clearing sewers and drains from blockages caused by people disposing of fats, wet wipes, cotton buds, nappies and other non-flushable items.
Northumbrian Water shared a number of surprising items it had discovered in pipes across its network, including a seven-foot python; a golf club; a shirt and pair of jeans; a Peppa Pig toy; a mobile phone; underwear; a curtain rail and a set of false teeth.
The biggest blockage cleared in the UK was a 130-tonne fatberg in Whitechapel, London that blocked a stretch of sewer more than twice the length of the football pitch at Wembley Stadium.
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