Fatberg is a portmanteau of the words fat and iceberg. The word was used in 2008 to describe "large, rock-like lumps of cooking fat" washing up on beaches in Wales, and by 2010 was used in reference to sewer-blocking fat deposits in London.

Aug 16, 2017 · Huge Blobs of Fat and Trash Are Filling the World’s Sewers. Mountains of grease and debris known as fatbergs are blocking toilets, breaking pipes, and even being illicitly converted into cooking...

Mar 14, 2019 · Fatbergs are a growing scourge infesting cities around the world—some are more than 800 feet long and weigh more than four humpback whales. These gross globs, which can cause sewer systems to...

May 1, 2021 · A massive fatberg, weighing more than 300 tons, is clogging a sewer in an English city – and authorities say it is unlikely to move for weeks.

Sep 30, 2019 · In September 2017, a 250-meter long monstrous fatberg weighing 130 tons was found blocking a sewer in Whitechapel in East London. It took workers nine weeks to remove the solidified mass.

Feb 18, 2025 · A fatberg is a monstrosity, created in the twisting mess of sewage piping beneath a city – a moving, living glob of congealed fat, cooking oil, nappies, and whatever else is tossed down our drains, absorbed into a hardened block of waste that stinks of excess and modern human irresponsibility.

Nov 13, 2024 · Fatbergs are responsible for roughly half of all sewer blockages in the United States and 40 percent in Australia. Fixing these blockages cost an estimated $25 billion in the US and $100 million...

Mar 13, 2025 · The water and calcium-rich environment in sewers encourages the buildup of these rock-like blockages. However, this specially engineered solution curbs calcium release from the sewer infrastructure’s walls. In a simulated environment that mimicked and accelerated the formation of fatbergs over 30 days, this coating was notably effective. ...

Aug 9, 2013 · Fatbergs, the giant collections of grease, oil, and fat that clog the sewer system under London's streets, were getting out of hand, the result of decades of people washing things down their ...

Aug 6, 2013 · Like an artery stuffed with plaque can lead to a heart attack, the tons and tons of fat clogging up London’s sewers were slowly choking the city. “CCTV investigations in London Road found the mound...