Families can now download a free, fully recyclable DIY board game to teach us about fatbergs and plastic pollution

A fully recyclable board game has been made available to download for free for families who want to have fun while stuck inside and learn about an important environmental issue at the same time.

Created by the team at Lanes for Drains, Pipes & Ladders is a quirky new take on the classic game of Snakes & Ladders.

In the new version of the game, the aim is for players to enter the sewers and make their way safely through to the seas. Snakes have been replaced by dirty drain pipes, clogged with wet wipes, plastic products and fat, oil and grease (FOG).

By advancing across the board, climbing the ladders and avoiding the pipes, families will experience all the fun of a traditional Snakes & Ladders board game – while learning some important lessons about how to keep your own pipes clear of the blockages that can cause so much damage to our real-life sewers and seas.

The game can be made completely from scratch, with just a few recyclable materials, listed on Lanes for Drains’ website, required to create the board and the dice.

Georgia Whitelegg, Sales and Marketing Administrator at Lanes for Drains, came up with the concept of the game with the aim of bringing families closer together and educating the next generation at the same time.

“I wanted to create something that families across the country could make from scratch, putting the time and love into building something themselves without worrying about their environmental footprint. I felt that by making every material recyclable, it would reinforce the importance of being eco-friendly and help our message about protecting the sewers and seas really resonate. And you don’t need to leave the house to enjoy the game!” she said.

Michelle Ringland, Head of Marketing at Lanes for Drains, said: “The launch of this game is extremely timely – families across the UK are currently self-isolating in the house looking for more fun things to do together.

“Every item used in creating and playing the game is fully recyclable – and what’s more fun than building your own board game?

“However, we also want to continue to raise awareness of two critical environmental issues that continue to endanger our planet: fatbergs and plastic pollution.

“We expect to see a significant rise in the number of unflushables – for instance wet wipes and kitchen roll – being flushed down toilets across the UK because of the Coronavirus crisis, and we need to remind people that this will have a terrible impact on the state of our all-important drainage infrastructure. What’s more, it can also lead to plastic polluting our rivers and seas.”

Pipes & Ladders has been created as part of the Unblocktober initiative, led by Lanes which is the world’s first awareness month aimed at saving our sewers and seas.

Currently, it is estimated that 8 million tonnes of plastic are dumped in the ocean every year, while statistics from Lanes for Drains show 48% of the nation pour FOG down their drains – even though this behaviour can lead to the formation of giant fatbergs in the sewers.

You can download the Pipes and Ladders game here. You can download the Pipes and Ladders instructions here.