Why this matters for the Dart: one commercial kitchen produces as much fat as dozens of homes, and one holiday let hosts new flushers every week.
This page is for the cafés, pubs, restaurants, takeaways, B&Bs and holiday lets that make the Dart valley what it is. Your kitchens and bathrooms are plumbed into the same sewers as everyone else's, at commercial scale, so a little housekeeping goes a long way, and some of it is a legal duty rather than a courtesy.
Fats, oils and grease are a legal matter for businesses. Under section 111 of the Water Industry Act 1991, it is a criminal offence to discharge into a public sewer any matter likely to injure the sewer, interfere with the free flow of its contents, or prejudice the treatment and disposal of its contents; penalties can include fines and, on indictment, imprisonment 64. Fat, oil and grease poured down commercial drains does exactly what the Act describes. In addition, building standards guidance for England states that drainage serving kitchens in commercial hot-food premises should be fitted with a grease separator complying with BS EN 1825-1 or other effective means of grease removal 65.
Set up a FOG routine. Water company guidance for food businesses is consistent 66: install a suitably sized grease separator ("grease trap") and have it maintained on schedule; scrape plates and pans into the food waste bin before washing; use sink strainers; collect used cooking oil in sealed containers and have it taken by a licensed waste carrier, who will typically turn it into biofuel; and train all kitchen staff so the routine survives changeovers. Why it helps the Dart: commercial FOG is a leading cause of the sewer blockages that push sewage out of overflows. How hard: moderate; mostly kit, contracts and habit.
Get free local support. South West Water runs a support programme for food businesses on exactly this. Working with Environmental Compliance and Services, it has visited and supported more than 2,200 food establishments across Devon and Cornwall, advising on correctly sized grease equipment, oil storage and licensed collection 67. If you run a kitchen in the catchment, ask for a visit before a blockage asks first.
Put the 3Ps in front of your customers. Guests flush what they flush, unless you ask otherwise. A small, friendly notice in each loo, only pee, poo and paper down the loo, wipes and period products in the bin provided, plus an actual bin in every cubicle, measurably changes behaviour, which is why water companies and charities produce ready-made toilet signage; City to Sea, for example, offers a free print-and-display Unflushables poster 28. Holiday lets can add a line to the welcome folder: this cottage drains to the River Dart, please flush only the 3Ps. Why it helps the Dart: in a tourism catchment, visitors' habits are part of the river's load; your bathroom is where they can be gently reset. How hard: easy.
If your property is off-mains, off-mains homes applies to you too. Holiday lets on septic systems need particular care: high summer occupancy, unfamiliar guests and a fragile drainage field are a poor mix. Tell guests the house rules, and desludge on schedule 48 49.