Fatbergs to become a thing of the past 

Birmingham based multi-venue hospitality space, The Arcadian, has been involved in a trial which has shown that the risk of fatbergs can be eliminated before they can start to form.

Having suffered with blockages and their associated odours over the past seven years which required cleaning every three months, The Arcadian was perfectly placed to test the effectiveness of an environmentally friendly new product.

Jo Kinsella, Centre Manager explained: “The Arcadian comprises 16 restaurants serving a range of global cuisines, 10 bars, two coffee shops, two hotels, a comedy club and 15 other outlets. The majority of the eating establishments are oriental and this presents a particular challenge due to the high proportion of stir and deep fry cooking they employ. Despite their attempts to stop it, inevitably, a quantity of fats, oils and greases end up deposited into the sinks and drains which, when cooled, form into thick layers that restrict outflow.”

Sceptical at the outset, Kinsella agreed to the trial in the absence of any other solution left to try. Persistent issues with blocked drains were requiring frequent costly remedial action including temporary closures of restaurants.  A permanent solution was essential.

After the six-week trial had finished, the results were so successful that use of the product was included within their regular general maintenance service. With no further blockages since then (one year), Kinsella said: “We take our environmental policy seriously and have worked with the team from Waste2 to implement a best practice of treating our drainage infrastructure with BiOWiSH® Aqua FOG. This is a biological system that not only prevents drain blockages, it consumes the FOGs, preventing reforming beyond our property and thus making the drainage around us better for Birmingham.”

Blocked drains are a costly issue across Birmingham. Severn Trent Water clears around 30,000 blockages across the entire West Midlands region each year, a large proportion of which are caused by fats and food waste escaping down kitchen plugholes and drains.

Severn Trent Water operates a consistent education programme to attempt to mitigate the number and scale of the blockages but improvements seem limited and drain blockages persist.

Richard Harland, Managing Director of Waste2 Environmental Systems Ltd who are the UK partners of BiOWiSH® was delighted at the positive results for The Arcadian.  e said: “The success of this initial trial has demonstrated that with a concerted effort, fat bergs could be stopped before they have the chance to develop and grow.”  

He continued: “The great thing about BiOWiSH® Aqua FOG is that it stops the FOGs problem in situ and permanently prevents reformation if used continuously. Other products on the market simply solve the issue where the FOGs can be seen,  but pushes them further down the drainage system to cause a blockage there.  This is a wonder product that simply eats the FOGs, using it as an energy source, to eliminate them completely.  It is totally natural and harmless.”