Anglian Water is urging Christmas cooks not to let cooking waste escape down the plughole this festive season.

It’s estimated that more than one million turkeys will be eaten in the Anglian Water region over the Christmas period. With each one producing around three-quarters of a pint of fat, that’s a total of 250 tonnes – or the equivalent of one million blocks of butter – which could end up being washed down the region’s drains.

Every year, the water company’s engineers clear thousands of blockages from the region’s pipes. There are more than 40,000 blockages a year in East Anglia alone – costing the company a whopping £19 million a year.

The wrongful disposal of fats, oils and greases can lead to devastating flooding, particularly in the rainy winter. Staggeringly, 80% of all these blockages are completely avoidable through simple behaviour changes. Anglian Water is encouraging everyone to keep their pipes clear of blockages this Christmas by just binning their cooking waste.

The festive period sees an increase in the disposal of fats and food waste, often at the detriment of the region’s sewers. Fat often slides easily down the sink as a warm liquid. However, it quickly cools and hardens, coating sewer walls and pipes, restricting the flow of water and increasing the likelihood of blockages or flooding.

Fat also binds with other food scraps and items that have been wrongfully disposed of, such as wipes, cotton buds and sanitary items, known as “unflushables” – all of which should be binned instead.

Molly McKie from Anglian Water said: “On average, we clear one blockage once every 15 minutes due to the amount of fats, oils and greases that find their way into our region’s sewers.

“Blockages can lead to flooding, and if this happens on your property, the repair bill will be one Christmas present you definitely don’t want. Avoidable blockages are also one of the main causes of pollution and significantly contribute to spills from storm overflows because they reduce the capacity of the sewer network.

“To help combat the issue this year, we’ve installed more than 32,000 new monitors in the most vulnerable pipes on our sewer network, including those most prone to blockages. Our aim is to prevent pollutions and flooding by finding them and removing them before they cause a bigger issue, but we need our customer to do their bit too to keep pipes clear this Christmas.”

Anglian Water’s top tips for leftovers this Christmas:
• Turkey fat doesn’t have to go to waste – it can be used to make perfect roast potatoes, or frozen and added to stocks and soups

• Use your leftover veg and potatoes to make delicious bubble & squeak – ideal for Boxing Day

• Leftover turkey tastes great in sandwiches… just don’t forget to stock up on the cranberry sauce!

• If you need to bin the fat, let it cool and then scrape it into your bin or use some newspaper to scoop it up and put in your food caddy or composter.