Monthly Archives: July 2018

Fatbergs became an infectious social media phenomenon in September 2017, when a 250-metre long mass, weighing as much as a blue whale, was discovered in Whitechapel. But this was far from an isolated incident. In the same month, a fatberg of congealed fat and waste under Baltimore caused a sewer spillage of 1.2 million US gallons into the natural environment.

Fats, oils and grease (FOGs) introduced into the sewers’ alkaline environment combine with all the non-biodegradable material down there to become calcified and solid—forming fatbergs. It can cost the authorities millions to clear.