On a cold Christmas Eve you promised a fatberg was waiting for me...
February 26, 2019 5:14 PM Subscribe
Behold, A Magnificent Baby Fatberg Being Pulled From The NYC Sewers. New York's fatberg removal costs have doubled over the past decade, prompting a public-awareness campaign to fight the menace.
Fatbergs, fatbergs, fatbergs, fatbergs, and more fatbergs, previously.
Fatbergs, fatbergs, fatbergs, fatbergs, and more fatbergs, previously.
Wet wipes, eh? Longtime member sonascope has opinions about wipes.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 5:49 PM on February 26, 2019 [13 favorites]
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 5:49 PM on February 26, 2019 [13 favorites]
Andrew Cuomo's other horcruxes remain unidentified at press time
posted by Space Coyote at 5:59 PM on February 26, 2019 [30 favorites]
posted by Space Coyote at 5:59 PM on February 26, 2019 [30 favorites]
Wet wipes, eh? Longtime member sonascope has opinions about wipes.
Metafilter: You will not win an argument with me about flushable toilet wipes.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 6:39 PM on February 26, 2019 [16 favorites]
Metafilter: You will not win an argument with me about flushable toilet wipes.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 6:39 PM on February 26, 2019 [16 favorites]
What are the steps needed for people to take class action against the wet wipe companies for false advertising and destroying public infrastructure?
I've had to move apartments because the municipal drainage backed up a toilet or two in the past. There's a lot of personal damage to household items when your floor fills with human waste because other people have clogged the line. There's no way of knowing whether my experience was caused by one of these things, but I imagine it's happened already.
How hard is it just to throw your wipes in the trash, or install a cheap bidet or just use a water bottle as a bidet?
posted by eustatic at 8:37 PM on February 26, 2019 [5 favorites]
I've had to move apartments because the municipal drainage backed up a toilet or two in the past. There's a lot of personal damage to household items when your floor fills with human waste because other people have clogged the line. There's no way of knowing whether my experience was caused by one of these things, but I imagine it's happened already.
How hard is it just to throw your wipes in the trash, or install a cheap bidet or just use a water bottle as a bidet?
posted by eustatic at 8:37 PM on February 26, 2019 [5 favorites]
It seems like it should be possible to make a truly flush-able wet wipe.
I guess it kind of doesn't matter. As long as non-flushable disposable wet wipes exist in the world, they're going to end up in the sewers, along with the dental floss and the condoms and the feminine hygiene products and the disposable gloves and the toys and all the other trouble-making stuff that also don't belong there.
posted by Western Infidels at 10:00 PM on February 26, 2019 [1 favorite]
I guess it kind of doesn't matter. As long as non-flushable disposable wet wipes exist in the world, they're going to end up in the sewers, along with the dental floss and the condoms and the feminine hygiene products and the disposable gloves and the toys and all the other trouble-making stuff that also don't belong there.
posted by Western Infidels at 10:00 PM on February 26, 2019 [1 favorite]
This calls for a Smokey The Bear-esque mascot for fatbergs. How about "Sappy the Sewer Saponification Rat?"
posted by qxntpqbbbqxl at 10:35 PM on February 26, 2019 [6 favorites]
posted by qxntpqbbbqxl at 10:35 PM on February 26, 2019 [6 favorites]
The name of the lead engineer for sewage and flooding at the Water Research Centre is Andy Drinkwater, because of course it is.
posted by flabdablet at 11:13 PM on February 26, 2019 [11 favorites]
posted by flabdablet at 11:13 PM on February 26, 2019 [11 favorites]
I wonder how much of an issue grease in the sewers was before wet wipes came on the scene. Like, I imagine people were dumping even more grease down the drain in the past (because people were probably using more of it than they are in modern cooking?), but it seems it didn't clog sewers that much until recent years.
posted by theory at 11:50 PM on February 26, 2019 [3 favorites]
posted by theory at 11:50 PM on February 26, 2019 [3 favorites]
Soon we'll be writing our comments by the light of fatberg candles, like the post-Brexit Brits
posted by Morpeth at 2:11 AM on February 27, 2019
posted by Morpeth at 2:11 AM on February 27, 2019
I always feel awkward about greases and oils. I'm not supposed to put them down the sink, but I can't really put them in a plastic container and send them to a landfill either, right? For something as common as grease, I have no idea how to properly dispose of it.
posted by Lord Chancellor at 5:51 AM on February 27, 2019
posted by Lord Chancellor at 5:51 AM on February 27, 2019
I always feel awkward about greases and oils. I'm not supposed to put them down the sink, but I can't really put them in a plastic container and send them to a landfill either, right? For something as common as grease, I have no idea how to properly dispose of it.
posted by Lord Chancellor at 5:51 AM on February 27
You can put grease in your compost, if your Municipality has a composting program. Or put it in your own compost if you live in the country and have your compost far from the house (grease and other meat wastes in compost will attract rats and raccoons).
Another option is to fill up a glass jar or metal tin, then throw it in the trash when its full. Not as good as composting, but miles better than pouring down the sink.
posted by Vindaloo at 6:26 AM on February 27, 2019 [3 favorites]
posted by Lord Chancellor at 5:51 AM on February 27
You can put grease in your compost, if your Municipality has a composting program. Or put it in your own compost if you live in the country and have your compost far from the house (grease and other meat wastes in compost will attract rats and raccoons).
Another option is to fill up a glass jar or metal tin, then throw it in the trash when its full. Not as good as composting, but miles better than pouring down the sink.
posted by Vindaloo at 6:26 AM on February 27, 2019 [3 favorites]
For something as common as grease, I have no idea how to properly dispose of it.
Cooking oils and greases can be recycled into biofuel. The Whole Foods in my neighborhood will take it, and I assume that is true for the others. Most communities will have a convenient collection point; google will help you find yours.
posted by sjswitzer at 6:31 AM on February 27, 2019 [1 favorite]
Cooking oils and greases can be recycled into biofuel. The Whole Foods in my neighborhood will take it, and I assume that is true for the others. Most communities will have a convenient collection point; google will help you find yours.
posted by sjswitzer at 6:31 AM on February 27, 2019 [1 favorite]
I don't at all enjoy the process of snaking mini-fatbergs out of my kitchen's drain lines. They smell bad. So I don't pour pure oils and fats down the sink, and I discourage other members of my household from doing so as well.
Any time I've got excessive fat or oil left behind in a pan after cooking in it, I'll give the pan a quick re-heat and then hang it up by the handle with a shallow jar underneath to catch the drippings. Only when the dripping has stopped does the pan then get washed.
If it's a cast iron pan I won't wash it with detergent, but only with very hot water and a washcloth; but after doing the pan I will then use detergent to get as much grease out of the washcloth as possible. That way, enough detergent ends up following the small amount of fat scrubbed off the pan down the drain as to emulsify it satisfactorily.
The jar of drippings gets capped and stored in the fridge and is the first thing I reach for when I next need to cook with oil or fat. I don't let it build up, so it never gets a chance to get rancid.
posted by flabdablet at 6:38 AM on February 27, 2019 [1 favorite]
Any time I've got excessive fat or oil left behind in a pan after cooking in it, I'll give the pan a quick re-heat and then hang it up by the handle with a shallow jar underneath to catch the drippings. Only when the dripping has stopped does the pan then get washed.
If it's a cast iron pan I won't wash it with detergent, but only with very hot water and a washcloth; but after doing the pan I will then use detergent to get as much grease out of the washcloth as possible. That way, enough detergent ends up following the small amount of fat scrubbed off the pan down the drain as to emulsify it satisfactorily.
The jar of drippings gets capped and stored in the fridge and is the first thing I reach for when I next need to cook with oil or fat. I don't let it build up, so it never gets a chance to get rancid.
posted by flabdablet at 6:38 AM on February 27, 2019 [1 favorite]
Surely there's a way to have the words "NOT FLUSHABLE" printed on all wet wipes.
(Even if they weren't a deterrent, it would give people something to read while pooping.)
posted by virago at 6:43 AM on February 27, 2019 [2 favorites]
(Even if they weren't a deterrent, it would give people something to read while pooping.)
posted by virago at 6:43 AM on February 27, 2019 [2 favorites]
Oil hardener is a thing in Japan but I don't know how common it is or how it compares with other disposal methods environmentally and economically.
posted by Botanizer at 6:47 AM on February 27, 2019
posted by Botanizer at 6:47 AM on February 27, 2019
As long as non-flushable disposable wet wipes exist in the world, they're going to end up in the sewers
To be clear: the word "flushable" on the package of wet wipes means nothing at all. There's no regulation requiring it to mean anything. There's no such thing as sewer-safe disposable wet wipes, because the thing that makes them work as wet wipes (they hold together well enough while wet to clean your ass) makes them not work in sewers (they hold together well enough while wet not to disintegrate).
If you're not sure whether you should be flushing it, put it in a bottle of water and shake. Does it come apart? You and your waste disposal systems should be fine. If it doesn't, don't flush it.
posted by asperity at 7:03 AM on February 27, 2019 [4 favorites]
To be clear: the word "flushable" on the package of wet wipes means nothing at all. There's no regulation requiring it to mean anything. There's no such thing as sewer-safe disposable wet wipes, because the thing that makes them work as wet wipes (they hold together well enough while wet to clean your ass) makes them not work in sewers (they hold together well enough while wet not to disintegrate).
If you're not sure whether you should be flushing it, put it in a bottle of water and shake. Does it come apart? You and your waste disposal systems should be fine. If it doesn't, don't flush it.
posted by asperity at 7:03 AM on February 27, 2019 [4 favorites]
I'm a big advocate of wipes, even after seeing the Adam Ruins Everything. Buttholes are gross, and dry-wiping is as good as dry wiping your hands. However, it's very hard to advocate for them knowing so many adults don't know to not flush them and I guess never thought to obviously buy a close-lid trashcan for the bathroom. Until I can be 100% sure adults know not to flush like maxi-pads and tampons (will never forget having to shit outside into a plastic bag and trash can bc roommates somehow not only reached adulthood but also graduated college before ever learning to not), it's hard to begin to push for wet wipe usage.
Fortunately, at the end of the day the only important butts to have clean are mine and the person who currently has the butt that is staging festivities.
posted by GoblinHoney at 11:48 AM on February 27, 2019
Fortunately, at the end of the day the only important butts to have clean are mine and the person who currently has the butt that is staging festivities.
posted by GoblinHoney at 11:48 AM on February 27, 2019
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posted by stinkfoot at 5:20 PM on February 26, 2019 [1 favorite]