• Severn Trent thanks 579 food service establishments in Birmingham, Warwick, Wolverhampton and Sutton Coldfield for doing their bit to protect our regions sewers
• Proactive collaboration results in an estimated 70,000 litres of fat, oil and grease (FOG) prevented from going down the drains over the course of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games

With the worlds eyes on the West Midlands this year, Severn Trent has thanked commercial kitchens who continued to do their bit to protect the Severn Trent sewer network.

In the lead up to the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games earlier this year, Severn Trent, in collaboration with contract partners ECAS, wrote to 579 food service establishments in areas where Birmingham 2022 events would be taking place, including Birmingham, Warwick, Wolverhampton and Sutton Coldfield, to provide top tips on FOG management.     

And thanks to the proactive work of Severn Trent and ECAS, good kitchen practices, and the installation of grease trapping equipment, it is estimated that 70,000 litres of FOG were prevented from going down the drains over the course of the Games, as elite athletes from around the world descended upon the second city three months ago for 11 days of world-class sport.

Severn Trent clears around 30,000 blockages across the entire region each year, a large proportion of which are caused by fats and food waste escaping down kitchen plugholes and drains, where it binds together with all the other things that end up in the sewer rather than the bin to create huge lumps, known as ‘fatbergs’, which block the sewers. These blockages can cause sewage to back up into people’s homes, the street or even into the local environment. 

The water and waste company has reported that in five years of working with ECAS, 8.7 million litres of fat, oil and grease (FOG) have been saved from clogging up the region's pipes. 

Grant Mitchell, from Severn Trent, said: “We’d like to thank the food service establishments that do all they can to trap FOG and do their best to make sure our sewer pipes are free from blockages, especially in these difficult times for businesses. 

“The fact that we’ve collectively trapped enough FOG over the past five years to fill over three Olympic sized swimming pools is testament to how businesses are doing their bit to stop FOG from entering our sewers, and we would encourage others to follow their lead.” 

Severn Trent advises waiting for cooking fats, oils and greases to cool before disposing of them in the bin and only flushing the three P’s – pee, paper and poo – anything else should go in the bin. 

Grant added: “When fats, oils and greases enter our sewer network, they can attach to other things that shouldn’t be flushed, such as wipes and sanitary products and quickly block sewer pipes, which can cause real issues – especially if it happens on the private network as that’s the property owner's responsibility to fix.” 

For further information and ways to avoid sewer misuse, visit www.stwater.co.uk/my-supply/waste-water/looking-after-your-sewers/avoiding-blockages/  

If customers do run into problems, either slow drains or a blocked sewer which is Severn Trent’s responsibility they can be reported at www.stwater.co.uk or by calling 0800 783 4444.