David Lepper

Labour Party | Brighton Pavilion

David Lepper MP backs festive fat-busters

David Lepper, Labour and Co-operative MP for Brighton Pavilion, is backing a campaign to highlight the problems caused by cooking fat blocking sewers.

The issue has been highlighted by Thames Water, which annually sees a major increase in the amount of fat poured down the drains during the festive season.

David Lepper said: “It's easy to pour liquid fat down the drain and think nothing more of it. Now I've now seen the problems it can cause I'm giving my support to highlighting the issue. If fat is properly disposed of, it lessens the risk of damage to people's own homes and protects the local environment.”

The MP is one of the sponsors of a Parliamentary Early Day Motion put forward by Dartford MP Dr Howard Stoate which emphasises the perils of fat in sewers and calls for ‘fat traps' to be fitted in all commercial hot food outlets.

David Lepper was briefed by Thames Water in a special session at the House of Commons last week, and saw for himself the sort of problems caused when fat blocks sewers. The issue affects water companies across the UK, and in the Thames water region alone is estimated to cause more than half of all sewer blockages.

The MP met “flushers”, whose job includes the grim task of removing fat from the sewers. They explained that fat poured down the plughole, in homes and food outlets, soon solidifies when it reaches the sewers.

Tony Dearlsey, Thames Water's Environment Manager, said: “Cooking fat poured down the drain is a major issue for water companies. It can lead to flooding not just within customers' own homes and gardens, but can also pollute the wider environment, including rivers and streams.

“We're very grateful for David Lepper's support, which helps highlight an important problem. It's particularly important at Christmas, which is the peak time of year for meat sales."

Thames Water's advice for domestic customers is to pour the liquid fat into an old tin or other sturdy container. When it has fully cooled and solidified, the fat should be wrapped in newspaper and put in the bin.

Alternatively, fat with a high nutritional content, such as beef or lamb suet, can be mixed with seeds, dried fruit and other food scraps and hung outside to provide extra nourishment for garden birds.