With millions of households, restaurants and eateries serving up a fabulous festive roast on Christmas Day, the UK’s leading marine charity is warning people not to pour leftover cooking fats and oils down the sink.

The Marine Conservation Society (MCS) says sewers clogged up with fat stops waste water reaching treatment works and can ultimately result in untreated sewage ending up on our beaches and in the sea.

Fats, oils and grease – FOGs for short – can cause major problems in pipes, drains and sewers. This waste congeals to form blockages which can lead to flooding in homes and pollution in our seas. Worse still, any flushed wet wipes team up with fats, oils and greases to make fatbergs, some as big as a double-decker bus!

“Making sure that fats and oils stay out of your dishwater, and away from your sink, may seem like a strange ask from a marine charity, but if everybody made that small change it could make a big difference to our seas and beaches. Blocked pipes increase the risk of sewers overflowing during heaving rainfall, allowing untreated sewage to spill into rivers and seas – bad news for the environment, wildlife and anybody who wants to enjoy a dip at the beach,” says Rachel Wyatt, MCS Water Quality Programme Manager.

So, along with other organisations working to improve bathing water quality through the #Binit4beaches campaign, like Keep Britain Tidy and the Environment Agency, MCS is highlighting this potential Christmas crisis with a brilliant downloadable graphic which can be displayed in the home or the workplace to remind people to get rid of leftover FOGs in the right way.