A CCTV camera captures a fat filled Highland sewer

 

Fats, oils and grease

Disposing cooking fats

Did you know?

  • 55% of sewer blockages are caused by people disposing of cooking fat down their sink.
  • Using detergents or bleach may appear to help, but this is only temporary as the mixture soon turns back to thick solid fat.
  • It is an offence under the Sewerage (Scotland) Act 1968 to dispose of fat, grease or oil down your sink.

Blockages can cause waste water to flood into your home or garden creating a mess and inconvenience for you, as well as being a health hazard that harms wildlife and your local environment.

Don't put your fat down the sink

Have you ever put your left over fat, oil or grease down the sink? Lots of us do this without realising that fat, oil and grease in liquid form may not appear harmful, but as it cools it congeals and hardens.  It sticks to the inside of drainage pipes and restricts the waste water flow causing your sewers and drainage pipes to block.  Over time this could stop your waste water running away, but it needs somewhere to go and this could cause your home/garden to flood.  It may come up through kitchen sinks, toilets, baths or drains.

Recycle your fat

You can recycle cooking fats by collecting it in a fat trap - a special plastic pot with a screw top lid, or a yoghurt pot or similar sealable container.  This is a safe option to collect fats, oils and grease whilst they cool and solidify.  We then encourage you to dispose of it with your household rubbish - bag it and bin it! 

Free Fat Trap


If you are a Scottish Water customer and one of the first 200 to e-mail or write to us telling how you dispose of your fats we will send you a free Fat Trap, as seen on BBC2’s ‘No Waste Like Home’ & ‘The F-Word’.

Don't worry if you are not one of the first 200 you can still put used fats and oils into an empty yoghurt pot or similar sealable container and dispose this with your household rubbish - bag it and bin it!

Scottish Water customers can write to us at Customer Marketing, Scottish Water, PO Box 8855, Edinburgh, EH10 6YQ or e-mail us at customermarketing@scottishwater.co.uk

Find out what else you can do to avoid blockages in your drains in our Bag it & Bin It campaign.

Read our Fat Oil and Grease leaflet

Read our Fat Oil and Grease poster

Related Content

Save Your Drains

We are asking our customers to think about what they put down their sinks and toilets to allow for safe disposal and prevent blockages.

Bag it and bin it

By doing a little you can help a lot: just bag it and bin it and you won't meet your waste again - Do your bit to help protect your natural environment.