Christmas is coming and the fatberg is getting… well fatter.
Thames Water is warning Londoners to avoid putting their unclaimed Christmas gravy down the sink this year, as it could make a 100-tonne fatberg found in east London’s sewers stronger than ever.
The giant fatberg was discovered in Whitechapel as Thames Water warns people to avoid blocking the drains this Christmas.
It weighed in at about 100 tonnes and stretched to around 100 metres.
This follows the water company clearing another 100-tonne mass just two months ago in Feltham, west London.
Thames Water has urged people to think carefully about what they pour down sinks and flush over the festive period to avoid fats, oils and greases congealing in the sewer system.
This recent discovery has been dubbed the ‘grandchild’ of the fatberg also found in Whitechapel back in 2017 – a gargantuan 130-tonne mass stretching over 250 metres.
Its so-called ‘grandfather’ was one of the biggest fatbergs workers had ever seen, and part of it was even put on display in the Museum of London.
But this new blockage is still a gigantic issue for Thames Water, and at 100 tonnes it weighs around the equivalent of eight double-decker buses.
Tim Davies, head of waste operations at Thames Water, said the extraction could take ‘weeks to complete’.
He added: ‘This latest fatberg shows exactly what happens when fats, oils and wipes go down our drains – they don’t disappear, they build up and cause serious damage.
‘The cost of clearing blockages and repairing sewers runs into tens of millions of pounds every year, and that money ultimately comes from our customers.’
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The water firm has seen a rise in blockages during December and January during the festive season, with clearance costs reaching £2.1million over the two months.
Thames Water spends £18million per year on clearing and removes 3.8billion wet wipes, according to Water Magazine.
Fatbergs are created by a build-up of fat and grease, often alongside sanitary products. Their main cause is people pouring cooking oil down the sink and flushing nappies, sanitary towels and wipes down the toilet.
Ahead of Christmas 2025, the company has urged people to scrape food from any dishes before washing them up, ensure plugholes are fitted with a strainer and avoid pouring liquid foods – such as gravy – down the sink.
A recent survey found more than 40% of people had poured meat juices down the sink, 39% gravy, 18% animal fats, 28% cream, 21% custard and 10.5% hummus.
These fatty substances contribute to blockages that risk internal flooding in homes, sewer pollution, environmental harm and avoidable expense.
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