Water & Wastewater Treatment Magazine
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The Works: Fat, oil and grease "The way we are dealing with food businesses is definitely industry-leading and I would say cutting-edge because we don't just visit food businesses but we also engage companies at a high level," Gabos says. "We work with food equipment manufacturers as well, and some of them have already redesigned their products based on our advice. This benefits the whole industry." Direct engagement is a central part of FOG and Unflushables, with a five- strong team having contacted 80,000 people over the course of three-and-a- half years, but the project has utilised a wide range of tools to get the message across, including print media, social media and radio. has sought to build relationships and raise awareness, with customer engagement officers sent to visit the most problematic areas to knock on doors, talk to residents and try to get the message through. "Our team use different props and literature, created based on customer research, and they are trained in the sewers so they can li‡ manhole covers and check for evidence of FOG," she adds. "They sometimes deal with small blockages and use CCTV cameras to try to find the source. Customers o‡en say it's not them flushing wet wipes but their neighbour, but usually they appreciate that we go. "Water companies are not always loved by customers but we visit them and we don't want anything from them – we just want to have a chat and give them information." For FSEs, the company also seeks to build relationships and raise awareness but, as their potential to cause harm to the sewers can be significant, it has developed a more stringent approach, which has been labelled the 'Southern Water Model' by Water UK. For a first offence, Southern Water will clear a blockage free of charge and provide information on grease management. Second time around, the FSE will be invoiced for the clean-up if no grease management has been put in place. If there is a third blockage and the FSE still refuses to install grease management, they face the prospect of court proceedings. "We much prefer carrot to stick," Stephen Williams, network protection and enforcement officer at Southern Water, says. "We'd rather engage with them and give them all of the information to prevent it happening, protect their own environment and stop them flooding themselves or their neighbours. It's much better that way and, generally speaking, they're happy to receive the information and share it. "In terms of fitting grease management in food service establishments, we're looking at a return rate of about 42 per cent. Obviously we want them all to fit it and then we're heading towards our zero pollution ambition, but it's difficult because there's no legislation that says you must have grease management. We're sharing the message and asking them to work with us." The company has also worked with larger organisations – including Sainsbury's, McDonald's and Prezzo – to bring about wider change. The Unflushables Assemble film is partly influenced by Thunderbirds The Unflushables augmented reality app was a creative means of engaging a new audience "Customers o en say it's not them flushing wet wipes but their neighbour, but usually they appreciate that we go. Water companies are not always loved by customers but we visit them and we don't want anything from them – we just want to have a chat and give them information" 18 | SEPTEMBER 2019 | WWT | www.wwtonline.co.uk