Engineers are desperately trying to dispose of yet another ‘fatberg’ threatening London’s aged sewers – and this time it weighs as much as a family of three elephants.
Stuart White of Thames Water says the latest fat blob to threaten the capital’s sewage system is currently underneath Chinatown near Leicester Square at 54 yards long and weighing 26 tonnes.
The unwholesome fatberg is made up of congealed wet wipes, nappies, fat, oil and other waste.
The latest fatberg was found in a sewer built in 1852 (pictured) under London’s Chinatown located near Leicester Square
The fatberg found in London’s Whitechapel earlier this month is only a third gone from the sewer it was found in. Thames Water has announced it will be weeks until it can be fully removed
Fatbergs (pictured) are made up of congealed condoms, wet wipes, nappies, fat, oil and other sanitary products that get stuck in the sewage system
Mr White said today it is not causing causing any problems at the moment, but needs to be broken up and removed before any damage is done.
The sewer it is blocking was built in 1852.
Thames Water is using high-powered jet hoses to try to break up the fatberg so it can be sucked out into tankers for disposal.
The disconcerting find comes two weeks after the company uncovered a fatberg that was 250 yards long and weighed as much as 11 double decker buses.
Made from condoms, wet wipes and other unsavoury items, it was found underneath Whitechapel Road in east London on September 12.
Experts claimed it would take them three weeks to dispose of the ball of waste, which more than twice as long as the football pitch at Wembley.
But it has now been announced only a third has been removed with work expected to continue into October.
The mass of waste will be enough to produce 10,000 litres of biodiesel, which would power 350 double decker buses for a whole day.
The 165-year-old sewer (pictured) will be hosed down by water experts as they desperately try to break down the waste
The 1852 sewer (pictured) is in the City of Westminster and runs underneath the capital’s Chinatown near Leicester Square
Thames Water waste network manager Alex Saunders said: ‘It may be a monster, but the Whitechapel fatberg deserves a second chance.
‘We’ve therefore teamed up with leading waste to power firm Argent Energy to transform what was once an evil, gut-wrenching, rancid blob into pure green fuel.
‘It’s the perfect solution for the environment and our customers as we work towards our target to self-generate 33 per cent of the electricity we use from renewable sources by 2020.
‘It also means the Whitechapel fatberg will get a new lease of life as renewable, biodegradable fuel powering an engine instead of causing the misery of sewer flooding.’
Thames Water is campaigning to make people aware of the damage caused by fatbergs, by encouraging people to dispose of their sanitary products properly
Thames Water’s Matt Rimmer says: ‘The sewers are not an abyss for household rubbish and our message to everyone is clear – please ‘Bin it – don’t block it’.’
Another giant fatberg was found under the streets of London today. This one is around 50 yards long and weighs 26 tonnes
Thames Water spends around £1 million a month clearing blockages from its sewers, all caused by items like fat, wipes, nappies, cotton buds, sanitary products and condoms.
They have launched a new campaign called ‘Bin it – don’t block it’ in a bid to reduce the amount of rubbish put down sinks and toilets.
Head of waste networks Matt Rimmer said: ‘When it comes to preventing fatbergs, everyone has a role to play.
‘Yes, a lot of the fat comes from food outlets, but the wipes and sanitary items are far more likely to be from domestic properties.
‘The sewers are not an abyss for household rubbish and our message to everyone is clear – please ‘Bin it – don’t block it’.’
GROWING PROBLEM: HOW GIANT FATBERGS OF WASTE ARE COSTING THE PUBLIC MILLIONS OF POUNDS TO CLEAR
Fatbergs – congealed fat which clumps together with other waste products to form concrete-style blocks – are becoming increasingly problematic in sewers across the UK, particularly in London.
The capital’s largest ever recorded fatberg, weighing in at 15 tonnes, was found in Kingston in August 2013.
And in 2015 workers spent four days removing a fatberg the length of a jumbo jet from a sewer in Shepherd’s Bush.
In neighbouring Bedfordshire a line of fatbergs recently clogged a 100metre-long pipeline. Anglian Water had to ship in a specialist robot (pictured) with a high-pressured jet from Holland to zoom along the blocked sewers to blast the fatbergs so they would gradually disperse
Vast: In 2015 a fatberg the length of a Boeing 747 was discovered underneath the streets of Shepherds Bush west London (pictured)
This screen grab from CCTV footage shows a fatberg weighing 15 tonnes found in a sewer under the streets of Kingston in south London
Among the most common causes of drain blockages are make-up and nappy wipes, fat and grease, chewing gum, dental floss, plasters and building debris.
Staff from Thames Water usually use powerful suction equipment to break down the blockages and then high-powered water jets to clear the tunnels.
The company spends approximately £1million a month clearing fatbergs and blockages, dealing with 55,000 of them every year. It is a similar story for other water companies across the UK.