Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
What Are YOU Doing About NYC's Growing Fatberg Threat?
By
Jen Carlson
Published Feb 15, 2019
Modified Feb 15, 2019
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Gothamist
View all 6
By
Jen Carlson
Published Feb 15, 2019
Modified Feb 15, 2019
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
You may have heard the term "fatberg" before—it shows up a lot in British headlines, since fatbergs grow to the size of a Cloverfield monster over there and take their toll on the country's aging Victorian sewers. But we've got fatbergs right here in New York City, too (they even made a cameo on Younger). And of course we do—you ain't a real city until you've effectively doubled your land mass through literal trash.
In fact, maybe at this point we're all just living on top of a fatberg? Sure looks like it in the latest campaign from the NYC Department of Environmental Protection.
(DEP)
Let's back up: what's a fatberg, exactly? The DEP says, "The word 'fatberg' combines the words 'fat' and 'iceberg' to describe the masses of congealed grease and personal hygiene products that have been found lingering in sewers around the world." The agency then shouted, "They are HUGE, DISGUSTING, DESTRUCTIVE, and COSTLY!" It's true. So the city wants you all to learn a little about how to manage your own garbage before this globulous waste monster hits British-size proportions.
They've set up fatbergfree.nyc to inform people how to stop fatbergs from taking over. It's simple, just put wet wipes in the trash. (Do not flush them! That is just feeding the fatberg!) And for cooking grease, don't pour it down the drain, "Let it cool, then put it in a sealed container and throw it away."
We've reached out to the DEP to find out more about NYC-specific fatbergs, and to request a tour of the gigantic fatberg from their PSAs, and will update with all the disgusting details when we have them.
Tagged
dep
fatberg
fatbergs
Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Central Park birders, others remember 63-year-old woman killed in park
People who said they knew her described her as an artist and a familiar presence in the Ramble.
By
Charles Lane
Published Sep 28, 2026 at 7:04 p.m. ET
Dump truck driver hits and kills cyclist on 34th Street in Midtown, NYPD says
It's the latest in a string of hit-and-run deaths in the city in recent months.
By
Liam Quigley
News
Dump truck driver hits and kills cyclist on 34th Street in Midtown, NYPD says
It's the latest in a string of hit-and-run deaths in the city in recent months.
By
Liam Quigley
New ingredient mandated for Latin American kitchen, restaurant plates in NJ
By
Arya Sundaram
A Brooklyn jail cell filled with smoke. The emergency button failed, a lawyer said.
By
Samantha Max
Crews launch tunnel machines to dig first new Hudson River rail tunnels since 1910
By
Michael Sol Warren
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .