Turkey juice down the sink scare: specter of disgusting ‘fatberg’ resurfaces in UK

The British authorities ask the population not to throw directly into the pipes the cooking juice produced by the turkeys during the end of the year meals. A fat monster might form and clog the sewers.

The alert is very serious: as reported in particular RTLthe British authorities ask the population not to throw directly into the pipes the cooking juices produced by the turkeys during the end of the year meals.

Sewers, which are experiencing chronic drainage difficulties in the UK, may not be able to handle it. And a “fatberg” might then form. Contraction of fat and iceberg, this neologism designates a disgusting monster composed of waste, oil and fat, capable of clogging everything and requiring heavy means to overcome it.

“Fatberg”

“For the vile plug to form, you need a huge amount of fat, as British gastronomy is so good at producing, and waste that shouldn’t be there: cigarette butts, tampons, cotton swabs… this material accumulates and when the fat cools, it forms a huge solid plug”, detailed France Inter.

It would not be the first time that the country has found itself in such a situation. In May 2021, can we read on West France, a huge “fatberg” weighing 300 t and almost a kilometer long had blocked a sewage pipe in Birmingham. The technicians who had tackled it must still remember it…