A shocking sculpture of a Christmas dinner, crafted entirely from congealed fat and grease, has been unveiled to highlight a major festive plumbing problem facing British households.
The 'Grease-mas' Dinner: A 50kg Warning
Commissioned by emergency home repair firm HomeServe, the revolting festive spread is made from over 50kg of fat, lard, oil and grease. It features a roast turkey with all the trimmings and an array of puddings, representing the huge volume of cooking waste incorrectly disposed of each December.
Food sculpture artist Prudence Staite spent nearly two weeks creating the piece, which contains over 250 times the fat found in a typical roast dinner.
Staggering Scale of Festive Fat Disposal
The artwork underscores a startling statistic: an estimated 8.5 million litres of cooking oil will be poured down UK drains this December alone. To visualise this volume, it is enough to fuel 300 commercial aircraft, fill 11 million champagne bottles, or top up more than three Olympic-sized swimming pools.
A study conducted for HomeServe reveals the careless attitudes driving this issue. Nearly three in ten (28%) Brits would rather risk a blockage than deal with the hassle of proper disposal. Almost half admitted they would only stop after experiencing a blocked pipe firsthand.
The Costly Consequences and 'Unbloxing Day'
This reckless behaviour has severe financial consequences. For one in ten households, it has already resulted in blocked drains or pipes, with cooking fat and oil being the primary culprit (52%). More than half (56%) of those affected faced repair costs, contributing to a nationwide repair bill estimated to exceed £670 million.
The repair company has dubbed December 27th "Unbloxing Day", as they witness a 31% spike in emergency callouts immediately after Christmas. The festive period sees a particular surge, with 16% of people confessing to pouring increased amounts of fat down their drains over the holidays.
Liam Sharkey, a home expert at HomeServe, issued clear advice: "Christmas can be chaotic without adding a blocked drain. To avoid unplanned disasters, dispose of cooking waste responsibly. Tip leftover oil into a container, let it solidify, and then put it in your household bin."
Despite the clear guidance, almost a fifth of respondents claimed they simply don't have the time for proper disposal, according to data from OnePoll.com. The grotesque 'Grease-mas' dinner serves as a stark, visual reminder of the hidden—and costly—problem lurking in Britain's pipes this festive season.
