Urgent crackdown needed on water’s £200m FOG problem

Tougher rules on the disposal of fat, oil and grease (FOG) are “more important than ever”, according to water companies and food service representatives.

New legislation around food waste and FOG disposal is expected in the coming months, following the consultation on reporting of food waste as part of the Resources and Waste Strategy for England.

FOG contributes to thousands of sewer blockages which cost the UK nearly £200 million a year to clear, according to FOGwise – an alliance of organisations from the food service and catering equipment sectors.

Of the 300,000 sewer blockages which occur in the UK every year, up to 70% are caused by FOG and other material disposed of incorrectly down drains.

While several pieces of UK legislation already exist in relation to excessive FOG disposal, FOGwise claims there is currently an absence of any definitive legislation governing the management of FOG.

Consequently, the alliance has developed its own FOG management guide alongside representatives of the water sector including British Water and Southern Water.

The guide points out the regulatory and legal failings and encourages better practice within the food services sector.

It bemoans a “lack of joined-up regulation” when it comes to FOG disposal, stating that current “FOG management practices in the UK rely to a large degree on the discretion of FSEs [food services establishments]”.

In Scotland, the Water Resources Act amended the Sewerage (Scotland) Act 1968 to specifically prohibit the discharge of FOG to the public sewer. Meanwhile, England, Wales and Northern Ireland rely on FOG being considered a “matter likely to injure the sewer or drain, to interfere with the free flow of its contents or to affect prejudicially the treatment and disposal of its contents” under the Water Industry Act.

The FOG management guide adds: “While neither of these pieces of legislation make installing FOG management equipment mandatory, several building regulations and Euro-norms do.

“While FSEs must comply with legislation, water companies do not have any right of access to a FSE to evaluate or control FOG management. The lack of joined-up regulation and the difficulty of linking a blockage to a specific FSE means FOG management practices in the UK rely to a large degree on the discretion of FSEs.”

It claims that “preventing FOG from commercial kitchens entering the sewer is more important than ever” because “the eating habits of the nation are changing” with people eating out more frequently than they did in the past.

As well as the £200 million cost of clearing blocked drains, the guide warns that FOG also creates costs associated with planned and unplanned sewer maintenance, pumping station failures and less effective treatment works.

It adds: “These costs are ultimately included in households’ and businesses’ water bills. As well as the cost, unblocking sewers often requires roads to be closed or roadworks to be put in place, which disrupts traffic and inconveniences the public.”

Most of the UK’s water companies now have set up sewer network protection teams to clamp down on offending FSEs.

Where persistent offenders are identified, water companies can reclaim the costs of removing blockages from the offending FSE and have the power to charge the offending FSE for the damage to the public sewer.

Severn Trent Water, Southern Water and Thames Water have all successfully pursued prosecutions for offending FSEs.