Unblocktober – the world’s first national campaign and awareness month to improve the health of our drains, sewers, watercourses and seas – has announced the launch of its fifth year.

Driven completely by the British public, this campaign aims to continue to improve the health of our drains and reduce the environmental impact of our waste water. Launched by drainage experts Lanes Group in 2019, the annual campaign calls on both individuals and businesses to take the Unblocktober pledge.

This means promising to keep potentially harmful waste materials out of your drains for the whole month.

This includes any of the following products:

Cooking oil – pre or post-cooking
Margarine
Butter
Lard
Cooking sauces and condiments
Food – even crumbs
Wet wipes
Face masks
Tampons, applicators and wrappers
Sanitary/menstrual pads and towels
Nappies
Condoms
Cotton buds
Contact lenses
Bandages and plasters
Razor blades
Dental floss
Rubber gloves
You can sign up to the pledge here.

Jacob Larkin, spokesperson for Unblocktober, said: “In the UK, we have poured harmful substances down our drains for decades. This has had disastrous results for the environment and led to the formation of fatbergs that are harmful to our drains.

“These large fatbergs can clog our sewers, making them less efficient than they should be and costing huge sums of money to remove. At a time when we just cannot afford to be causing any more environmental damage, this has had significant ecological effects, and is increasing pollution in our waterways.

“Since our first campaign in 2019, we’ve seen signups to Unblocktober rise from 4,500 to over 66,000. We are incredibly proud of the efforts of the British public and businesses to tackle the climatic and ecological impact of poor drain health. We are asking the public to continue to back this important environmental campaign and raise awareness of this problem.

“It is essential that we continue to reduce the environmental impact of our drainage use and improve the overall health of our waterways. It is up to us at Unblocktober to help to increase the public’s awareness of poor habits to continue to have a positive impact and give the environment a fighting chance. We have seen some success with the public’s awareness of fatbergs up from 47% to 77% between 2017 and 2022. However, the UK government is still spending £100 million a year to clear fatbergs and we need to keep going to make sure that everyone takes the Unblocktober pledge.”

For more information on the campaign and how to get involved, visit: https://www.unblocktober.org/