The store will be handing out free fat traps, provided by Scottish Water, to all customers when they collect their pre-ordered turkeys.

When cooled, fat hardens and can clog pipes when poured down sinks.

These sorts of blockages, which cost Scottish Water millions of pounds annually to clear, can lead to flooding inside homes and businesses and are expensive to clear, money that could be invested elsewhere.

The secure fat trap boxes Waitrose is handing out this year to customers can be used to collect and secure leftover cooking fat and oil, so it can be put in the bin, rather than down the drain.

Quentin Clark, head of sustainability at Waitrose, said: “Fat in the sewers is a big problem, particularly at this time of year. What we are giving away is just a small box, but we hope it will make a big difference. We are committed to supporting local communities and helping to reduce this problem across Scotland and the wider UK.

“By encouraging our customers to use our free fat-traps, we can dramatically cut the percentage of damage caused to drains by fat, oil and grease.” Chris Wallace, Scottish Water’s director of communications added: “We’re pleased to be involved in this joint campaign with Waitrose.

“We attended to over 40,000 blockages in Scotland’s drains and sewers last year, around 80 per cent of which were caused by people putting the wrong thing down their drains – cooking fat included.

“If Waitrose customers pick up and use their fat traps, it will really help to lighten the load on the Scottish water system over Christmas and the New Year.” Across the UK, blocked drains rise by 25 per cent during the festive season, with more than 1,000 tonnes of leftover cooking fat poured down sinks - the equivalent weight of two million Christmas puddings.