Irish Water and Clean Coasts are partnering with some of Ireland’s celebrated chefs to ask people to ‘rethink the sink’ and raise awareness of the problems caused by pouring fats, oils and greases (FOGs) down the sink.
The ‘Think Before You Pour’ 2021 survey results by Irish Water show that close to four in ten adults (38%) admit to pouring items down the sink that are known to cause blockages in the wastewater network and treatment plants.
FOGs should be never poured down the sink, instead, they should be collected in a heat-proof container to allow them to cool and then be put into the bin.
‘Think Before You Pour’ is a public-awareness campaign highlighting the problems caused by pouring FOGs down the sink, including the formation of fatbergs, which are very large masses of solid waste in a sewerage system. Irish Water explained:
“FOGs cool and harden as they travel along the pipes and can cause blockages in homes, businesses, the public sewer network and wastewater-treatment plants and can lead to overflows of sewage in communities and pollution in rivers, on beaches and in the ocean.”
Combined with wipes and other sewage-related littler such as hair and dental floss – which should not be flushed down the toilet – FOG’s result in the formation of fatbergs.
Irish Water is reminding the public to not use the kitchen sink as a bin, and to help safeguard the wastewater network and local environment by collecting cooled FOGs and disposing of them in their bin.
Last year, Irish Water responded to approximately 10,000 customer-notified blockages along the wastewater network which were leading to sewer overflows.
Irish Water’s head of operations, Tom Cuddy explained:
“Removing fatbergs and blockages from our public sewers and cleaning up sewer overflows is a dirty job with nasty consequences, but it is so easy to prevent.”
Coastal communities manager at Clean Coasts, a charity programme run through the Environmental Education Unit of An Taisce, Sinead McCoy added:
“Simply by being more conscious of our behaviour at the sink and by making small changes, we can all have a positive impact on our natural environment. I would encourage and remind everyone to ‘Think Before You Pour’ this Easter.”
Chefs participating in the campaign are; Kevin Dundon, Gina Daly, Lilly Higgins, JP McMahon, Edward Hayden, Guy Sinnott and Mark Murphy, as well as well-known food blogger, Niamh O’Sullivan.