East Suffolk Council

Posted by Suffolk Coastal and Waveney District Councils on 13 December 2017 | Comments

Tags: Waste, Christmas, Beaches

This festive season we're asking people across east Suffolk to help keep our beaches clean by making sure all their leftover cooking fats and oils are put in the bin rather than poured down the sink.

If leftover fat from cooking the Christmas dinner goes down the sink, even with hot water and washing up liquid, it soon sets hard in the cold pipes. When it mixes with other unflushable items, such as wet wipes and sanitary products, it creates what is known as a 'fatberg'.

These fatbergs can then clog the sewerage pipes and stop waste water from reaching the treatment works as intended. This means the risk of sewage spilling out into homes, streets, rivers and seas is substantially increased.

However, this is easily addressed. Make sure you follow these simple steps this Christmas and give the gift of clean rivers and seas for 2018 and beyond:

1. Scrape or pour leftover fat from roasting trays and pans into a heat resistant container then recycle or bin it once cooled
2. Wipe out grease left in pans with kitchen roll before washing
3. Use a sink strainer to catch any greasy food scraps

With the majority of UK residents cooking a delicious (but greasy!) meal on the 25 December it’s important that this message is shared widely in order to protect our environment.

Please pledge your commitment to #binit4beaches via Marine Conservation Society's Thunderclap or share this webpage with friends and family.