22 December 2006
Thames Water has teamed up with a number of restaurants, pubs and a hotel in Windsor to prevent the depositing of liquid fat in drains.
In a bid to prevent the sewers from being clogged, grease interceptors, otherwise known as 'fat traps', have been installed in nine restaurants, six pubs and a hotel.
"Windsor's sewers clog up frequently and we think the unpleasant smell that hung around town this summer owes much to the large amount of fat that has been entering these underground arteries," said Thames Water's research scientist, Rachael Hobson.
"Around 80% of the fat that pours into our sewers comes from restaurants and takeaways and we hope that this scheme will show those working in kitchens just how much used cooking oil and grease finds its way down the drain."
The grease interceptors are the size of a suitcase and will allow Thames Water to gauge how much fat different restaurants are producing as well as ascertain how hard the fat becomes that is deposited illegally down the drains.
Pouring warm liquid fat down drains contravenes Section 111 of the Water Industry Act, 1991, as doing so interferes with free flow of sewer contents.
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