Severn Trent clearing 30,000 blockages a year

The Coventry-based water company has to clear around 30,000 blockages from the waste network annually, and each week pulls two-and-a-half tonnes of wet wipes from sewers – the weight of a Range Rover.

But its ‘Be A Binner, Not A Blocker’ message has proved a huge success throughout the last year, including over the summer Olympics in France with 14 million litres of 'FOG' successfully cleared from sewers, saving customers unnecessary and potentially costly issues if it caused problems in homes.

The work includes a ground-breaking new partnership with local Gurdwaras across the region, including in Birmingham and the Black Country. The campaign, run in conjunction with Environmental Compliance and Services, Lifecycle Oils and community group Gurdwara Aid, sees fat-traps installed at the Sikh places of worship to collect the FOG, rather than it going down sinks or drains.

Other food service establishments have also signed up for the FOG-trapping scheme, including Nandos restaurants in the West Midlands.

Grant Mitchell, sewer blockage lead at Severn Trent, said: “With the help of our Be A Binner, Not a Blocker message we have collected some 14m litres of fats, oils and greases that may otherwise have been poured into out sewers.

“That is close to six Olympic sized swimming pools of FOG – putting us in podium position in terms of this campaign.”

He added: “Blockages like these are a real menace as they can lead to flooding if not detected and dealt with.

“Putting the wrong things down the toilet or drain can have a devastating impact on communities and the environment and we know blockages can be a horrible experience for our customers.

“We can all play a part in helping keep our sewers free of fats, oils and greases. To do that, it’s vital we put fats, oils and any food in the bin, and remember to only ever flush the 3 Ps down the toilet too – poo, pee and paper.”

Harkeerat Kaur, from ECAS, represents Severn Trent as a community engagement officer and has been liaising with Gurdwaras over the benefits of the project.

She said: “To have collected 14m litres of fats, oils and grease is a huge achievement. The partnership with Gurdwaras has proven particularly successful, with more and more coming on board across the region.”

Wet wipes and FOG can contribute to creating giant fatbergs. One of the biggest fatbergs in recent times was discovered in Small Heath, Birmingham, in 2021, and was said to have weighed 300 tonnes and took days to clear.

Earlier this year, Severn Trent welcomed Government plans to ban wet wipes containing plastic – which can take up to 500 years to disintegrate.

Severn Trent has been running a series of ‘Sewer Stories’, showcasing the work that waste teams do to keep sewers clear and some of the weird things they have found including everything from false teeth and toys to car tyres and even a shed.