747-sized "fatbergs" in London sewers - Pix!

[Eug]

Yummy!

Gross Photos Show Sewer Workers Battling A 'Fatberg' The Size Of A Boeing 747 Under London

Fatbergs are composed largely of cooking oil that has been poured down drains while hot and runny. Once in the cold water of the sewer system, however, the fat congeals. The solid mess then combines with "wet wipes." The wipes are frequently labeled as "disposable" but are turning out not to be.

Cooking oil + wet wipes = fatberg, it turns out.

 

[RadiclDreamer]

Wait, this cant be true, I thought all of Europe were bastions of health and did use anything fatty

 

[phucheneh]

I always knew that adults who use baby wipes would cause the downfall of society.

 

[Eug]

Grease is very popular in England.

Fat is also very popular in France for example.

They just eat less of it compared to the US though.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_food_energy_intake

 

[tcsenter]

Recent immigrants and such. I have a relative with a condo in a pretty well known resort town where the real estate is pricey. IOW, not many migrant workers or illegals can afford to live there, many commuted from miles away. The town's 'ghetto' consisted of two older apartment buildings, each with about 20 units, which was mostly occupied by Mexicans and Guatemalans or whatever, usually at least two people splitting the rent.

The city repeatedly had to send in a crew to clean-out the sewer drain serving the apartment complex because of all the grease and oil they poured down the drain from making taco or burrito meat, deep fried shit, tamales, etc. Some of them were found to be food vendors selling food illegally, prepared in their kitchens without a permit/license.

 

[nickbits]

I remember reading about those a year ago. Guess they didn't resolve the problem.

 

[IronWing]

Turn the biodiesel folks loose on the problem.

 

[mmntech]

Wait, this cant be true, I thought all of Europe were bastions of health and did use anything fatty

Somebody's not quite familiar with British cuisine. This is a country that considers french fries between two pieces of bread to be a perfectly fine meal. Problem is a lot of the chip shops are too cheap to dispose of used chip grease properly. So they just dump it down the drain. The above images show why that's illegal.

Now in America, things are a bit different. The fatbergs there are on the surface.

 

[HamburgerBoy]

Somebody's not quite familiar with British cuisine. This is a country that considers french fries between two pieces of bread to be a perfectly fine meal.

What about potato chips between two pieces of bread?

<---- a true American

 

[Howard]

The solution is to add lye everywhere.

 

[mmntech]

What about potato chips between two pieces of bread?

<---- a true American

Is the bread also deep fried. If not, then you're not a true American. ^_^

 

[Markbnj]

Calling Mike Rowe.

 

[HamburgerBoy]

Is the bread also deep fried. If not, then you're not a true American. ^_^

I slather about half a cup of Miraclewhip on each slice, does that compensate?

 

[chubbyfatazn]

I slather about half a cup of Miraclewhip on each slice, does that compensate?

No, needs to be real mayo.

Don't forget to butter the bread first.

 

[SOFTengCOMPelec]

Wait, this cant be true, I thought all of Europe were bastions of health and did use anything fatty

We are.

E.g. I'm about to eat a tiny snack, so I'll photograph it, and pop it here:

My pic1

I had a typical meal in America, and the sever handed me this:
(Excuse the spelling of server and the pun):

My pic2

Some food is soooooo irresistible, they are real eye candy:

My pic3

 

[mikeford]

Every city with restaurants has the same issue with grease going down the drain and turning solid in the sewer.

 

[OverVolt]

I thought this thread was about people... I'm kind of disappointed.

 

[KeithTalent]

What about potato chips between two pieces of bread?

<---- a true American

A chip butty? Pretty sure that's British.

KT

 

[Possessed Freak]

Think of all that untapped energy... burn it to power stuff darn it.

 

[OverVolt]

Think of all that untapped energy... burn it to power stuff darn it.

Well you go scoop it up then. I doubt the image captures shall we say, the essence that permeates the air in that environment.

 

[NetWareHead]

Every city with restaurants has the same issue with grease going down the drain and turning solid in the sewer.

No...because most restaurants have a grease trap that intercepts the oil and would prevent this sort of thing.

The problem is localities without this mandate for commercial kitchens or restaurants that let their traps get full and dont clean them.

 

[Gunbuster]

Vactor needs to send over some sales people...

 

[bignateyk]

Every city with restaurants has the same issue with grease going down the drain and turning solid in the sewer.

Uh.. that's why restaurants aren't supposed to dump cooking oil down the drain. They fill 50 gallon drums with used oil for proper disposal. At least that's what they're supposed to do.

My guess is most of this is from residential areas where people just dump anything and everything that's remotely a liquid down the drain.

 

[KeithTalent]

Uh.. that's why restaurants aren't supposed to dump cooking oil down the drain. They fill 50 gallon drums with used oil for proper disposal. At least that's what they're supposed to do.

My guess is most of this is from residential areas where people just dump anything and everything that's remotely a liquid down the drain.

Most restaurants have actual disposal companies to come by and pump out the grease traps. It's a regulation in many places.

KT

 

[NetWareHead]

Most restaurants have actual disposal companies to come by and pump out the grease traps. It's a regulation in many places.

KT

Pump it out...lol we do it ourselves.

In my family's restaurant, when we empty the deep fryer, or cook a bunch of greasy meat (sausage, bacon etc...) all of that grease/oil goes into a barrel in the back of the restaurant. We pay a grease disposal to come and dispose of, I heard they make it into soap. They seal the full barrel and take it with them while leaving us an empty(s)

We also have a grease trap in the sewer lines (only from the kitchen sinks, dishwasher and slop sinks; it doesnt handle sewage from toilets). These need to be opened and the floating grease present gets ladled into a big pot. That grease gets also dumped into the disposal barrels out back.

The grease in the trap is putrid and almost rotting. The smell is so terrible because it sits in there with no refrigeration until cleanup time and IMO, rotting grease smells worse and is more insidious than even rotting meat . Anytime the trap is open for cleaning, I'm fighting vomit. We have 2 dishwashers who also do cleanup chores. They resort to drawing straws to decide who has to empty this trap. The pit is deep and to get to the very bottom, you gotta put your face practically in it so your hand can get down to the bottom of it.