Are you lost in the FOG?
For businesses in the hospitality and leisure sector, unchecked Fats, Oils, and Greases (FOGs) can lead to costly plumbing disasters and significant environmental impact. Several areas of legislation, including Section 111 of the Water Industry Act 1991, prohibit the discharge into sewers of any substances that may interfere with the free flow of its contents, and water companies have the right to prosecute.
FOG contributes to thousands of sewer blockages each year, which cost the UK nearly £200 million a year to clear.
This means that sites serving hot food need to ensure effective FOG monitoring and management solutions are in place, with grease traps installed where required.
A proactive review alongside water companies can help tackle any issues associated with FOGs.
Water Company Action on F.O.G. in the Thames and Anglian Regions
Some wholesalers have begun sharing priority locations where FOG incidents have occurred in the past. This is helpful to the hospitality and leisure sector – and in future its supply chain – for ensuring that it is not contributing to the problem.
Anglian Water
Anglian Water has launched a FOG programme in partnership with Environmental Compliance & Services (ECAS Ltd), a third-party expert in FOG legislation and compliance. Its ambition is ‘to be the most successful, effective and respected FOG management programme across the UK, delivering positive environmental, operational and economic outcomes in the region Anglian Water serves.’
- The problem: Approximately 44,000 tonnes of FOGs enter Anglian Water sewers every year, predominantly by food services establishments (FSEs). These can cause poor flow, reduced capacity, flooding, blockages and fatbergs.
- STAT: 80% of Anglian Water’s 80,000 reactive sewerage network jobs per annum relate to FOGs and unflushables.
- The solution: Alongside ECAS, Anglian is using a Water Recycling Network risk tool which breaks the region into zones, each with a FOG-related risk rating which helps prioritise focus areas. Using this data, Anglian is working to improve awareness and knowledge of the issue, predominantly amongst sole traders who are linked with 90% of incidents.
- The result (to date): There has been a 40% decrease in reactive workload in the regions that have been prioritised and focused on.
Anglian Water has engaged with 1,300 food services establishments to install grease traps to then resell FOGs into the circular economy and has more recently begun engagement with larger brands to ensure compliance. The aim is to work with as many stakeholders as possible to improve awareness of FOGs (including potential resale for use as energy) and unflushables.
Anglian Water has provided lists of supply points to Waterscan customers, along with the associated FOG risk based on postcode. We encourage customers to conduct regular reviews that ensure all sites that need to have a grease trap fitted are compliant. A dosing system – adding a controlled amount of a substance to another substance or process – either manually or automatically – can be suitable where grease trap installation is impractical.
Thames Water
Thames Water also shared highest priority postcodes – areas where the most FOG-related issues occur – and aligned it with relevant sites that serve food. This entailed looking at what was installed at each site, prioritising those in high-risk areas without adequate grease management in place.
Some pub kitchens, for example, are too small for a grease trap, so alternative grease management could be put in place at those sites, which Thames accepts so long as the communication is open, and the mitigation deployed is effective.
Waterscan also occasionally receives communications from other wholesalers with information on hotspot areas, based on issues building up.
Thames typically issue three notices to sites where there is a likely issue and then inspect. If non-engagement persists, Thames start escalating, which can lead to fines and prosecution.
Waterscan customers’ encounters with Thames in relation to FOG are mostly positive when the customer is engaged. We have experienced various scenarios where Thames has supported businesses looking for suggestions on the right thing to do. Passive traps and grease removal units are the preference of water companies, but bio-dosing combined with stringent adherence to training can substitute in small kitchens where that is impractical.
Workarounds are usually acceptable, so long as Thames do not experience operational issues caused by FOG from those premises. They retain the right to insist on upgrading the grease management system regardless of the cost/difficulty if operational issues persist, but businesses that behave responsibly are generally treated fairly, and Thames are always available to discuss further.
Site vs Group-Level Challenges
The key advice for a site is not to ignore a notice when it is received. Confusion can arise because both sides of the equation – each water company and each food service establishment – has a different process. The challenge businesses face is that notices often go to site rather than anywhere centralised, so they frequently don’t realise there’s an issue until it’s been escalated quite significantly.
Conclusion
Prioritising effective FOG management is not just about compliance; it’s about safeguarding operational efficiency and protecting your reputation. Waterscan is a leading expert in navigating a complex and disjointed landscape for large hospitality and leisure sector customers.
