New York Launches Campaign To Fight Pipe-Jamming Fatbergs

Long thought to be an issue that plagued the United Kingdom most acutely, the scourge of fatbergs has been making itself known stateside.

Fatbergs, the pipe-jamming, motor-blocking globules that form when people dispose of so-called “flushable” wipes through their toilets, have been known to reach the size of buses in London’s sewers. Despite their whimsical name, they pose very real dangers for wastewater systems, potentially causing sewage floods and breaking expensive equipment at treatment facilities. In a sign that the issue isn’t going away soon, New York City has recently taken efforts to inform its citizens of the dangers of flushing these wipes.