Walls of fat removed from London's sewers Enough fat to fill nine double-decker buses is being removed from sewers under London's Leicester Square.
A team of "flushers" equipped with full breathing apparatus has been drafted in with shovels to dig out an estimated 1,000 tonnes of putrid fat. And powerful jets are being used to break it down. The operation, which began in the early hours of this morning, is claimed to be the largest-ever sewer clean-up of its kind.
The build-up is the result of years of "sewer abuse" - when anything other than water, human waste and toilet paper is put down drains - according to Thames Water.
Danny Brackley, the water company's sewer flusher, said: "We're used to getting our hands dirty, but nothing on this scale. We couldn't even access the sewer as it was blocked by a four-foot wall of solid fat."
I commend these folks for doing their jobs without vomiting uncontrollably until they pass out.
I'd want a mask on, there. Just in case.
This is one of those jobs that matters more to what we think of as "modern civilisation" than all the CEOs in the world put together. Or we'd be, you know, wading through our own crap.
Time to make some soap, maybe start a fight club or something.
Point of note: there are a buttload of restaurants on Leicester Square, including some very large, busy Chinese ones (read: lots of frying going on). And a 160-year old sewer system.
That's a lot of potential biodiesel!
So...9 buses full of American tourists?
D:
Now we know how much fat it takes to fill the Albert Hall.
Our local government is running a campaign to avoid that kind of mess.
If it works it'll be a money saver...