Sydney’s massive four-bus-sized fatberg crisis blamed on 12,000 food businesses illegally dumping grease into sewers

A massive fatberg the size of four buses is clogging Sydney’s Malabar wastewater treatment plant, and Sydney Water is pointing fingers at thousands of local restaurants and food manufacturers for illegally dumping cooking oils and grease down their drains.

According to Sydney Water officials, up to 12,000 food businesses in Sydney’s south-west could be violating waste disposal regulations by discharging fats, oils, and grease directly into the sewage system without proper grease traps or waste control measures. This enormous accumulation of solidified cooking waste is creating serious operational problems at the Malabar treatment facility, which serves a significant portion of the city’s wastewater needs.

The situation appears to have worsened dramatically since 2017, when changes to reporting requirements and reduced inspection protocols may have created enforcement gaps. Critics argue that these policy changes coincided with a sharp spike in the volume of fats, oils, and grease reaching the treatment plant. While the overall increase in food businesses across the region has contributed to the problem, the lack of proper waste management infrastructure among these establishments is creating an environmental crisis that extends beyond just sewage treatment issues.

However, restaurant owners are pushing back against the blame, arguing that if Sydney Water considers this a problem, it should be the utility company’s responsibility to solve it. This finger-pointing highlights the ongoing tension between municipal authorities trying to maintain aging infrastructure and businesses operating under increasingly complex environmental regulations.