There was a time when people threw their solid waste and disposable items out their windows to fall to the street below or into ditches that often emptied into rivers or onto the ground to be carried away by storm water. It was common practice to empty the chamber pot (a pre-toilet waste collection option) out the window. Look out below! The stench was overwhelming, and bacteria-borne infectious diseases like cholera spread widely. People learned that in any populated area open dumping of solid waste could not continue. With the help of advancements in indoor plumbing and sewer systems and the widespread installation of both, solid waste dumping eventually stopped and we no longer have to dodge falling excrement while walking down the street.
We have a similar modern-day problem that is not new but may be new to you. The problem has earned the somewhat innocuous name of fatbergs. Fatbergs are surprisingly large masses of densely packed material formed from grease, fat, flushable wipes and other items people put down residential and commercial drains. Some material enters the sewer system directly through access points on the street where rainwater is intended to go. Because these items do not break down in the toilet or in the sewer system, they collect and form large, dense masses called fatbergs.
We know it is not OK to pour hazardous materials down our drains: things like oil-based paints, chemicals, medications and other highly toxic materials. But did you know pouring the fat from your bacon drippings down your sink drain is a problem? Those so-called flushable wipes are not actually flushable but should be thrown in the trash. They do not break down like toilet paper and instead collect and combine with grease and fat and grow and grow into massive, cement-like blockages. All those things we should know are not OK to flush down the toilet (condoms, feminine products, paper towels, hair, dental floss and many other items you think just disappear down the toilet) enter the sewer system and mix with grease and everything else that goes down the sink to become a massive mass of congealed matter that is destructive and costly.
Many things that we commonly flush do not break down in the sewer system, but instead they jam components at the wastewater treatment plants and break machinery. Fat, oil and grease coat the insides of sewers and pipes and over time can block the pipes completely (think about how fat can block your arteries!). If the wastewater cannot move through the pipes easily, it can cause flooding in neighborhoods and even back up into people’s homes. In fact, 75 percent of sewer backups in New York City are due to grease buildup in the sewer system. Not only is all this damage incredibly costly (to the tune of many millions of dollars), but it also threatens the ability to properly clean our wastewater, which is discharged to our local waterways. Ultimately what is flushed down the toilet and poured down the sink threatens our access to clean water for recreational use and potentially for drinking.
In 2018 public works officials in Detroit removed a fatberg from the sewer system that was said to be 100-feet-long, 11-feet-wide and 6-feet-tall. It consisted of fats, oils, grease and solid items like baby wipes. A year earlier, in London, a fatberg 250-yards-long and weighing as much as four Humpback whales (10 tons) and stretching at least a city block was removed from the sewers. In Baltimore, a fatberg blocked the sewer system and caused more than a million gallons of sewage to spill into a river. At the University of Michigan, a fatberg blockage caused 300,000 gallons of sewage to back up. This is happening all over the world and is costing taxpayers a lot of money. The fatbergs are compared to concrete and are just as hard to break up and remove from the pipes. This explains why fatbergs can actually cause pipes to burst.
This is a no joke problem we cannot only do something about, but also solve. How often do you hear that nowadays? To follow the mantra of the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, let’s commit to flushing only the four P’s: poop, pee, puke and toilet paper. Everything else should go in the trash. You’ll be saving yourself a lot of headaches, money and disgust while also helping protect our waters.
