Extraordinary scale of Scotland's fatberg problem is genuinely hard to believe

Dealing with fatbergs in Scotland’s sewers costs an average of £20,000 a day

Many of us are aware of the fatberg issue. We know we’re not supposed to put oil down the sink and that flushing wet wipes is not a good idea. However, it’s possible that more than a few are blissfully unaware of the extraordinary scale of the problem.

First, fatbergs can be absolutely enormous. One of the biggest, found in London, weighed the same as 11 double-decker buses and was two football pitches long. “It took a team of eight, working every day for several weeks, to break down the mass,” according to Water UK.

Second, there are lots. In Scotland, nearly 35,000 sewer obstructions were removed in 2024. And third, dealing with them costs a lot of money – an average of £20,000 a day.

This sculpture of a fatberg may look big but it's a tiddler compared to the largest real ones found in UK sewers (Picture: David Parry) | PA

Now the Scottish Conservatives have criticised SNP inaction over the issue, with Maurice Golden MSP saying ministers’ talk about considering future options was “just SNP jargon for washing their hands of it”.

We’d all like to wash our hands of this particular problem. So come on, let’s start by binning those wet wipes and giving our hard-pressed sewer workers a break.