12 Sep Save Our Sewers: How to Dispose of Fats, Oils, and Grease
Fats, oils, and grease can wreak havoc on the sewer system. These fatty compounds take years and years to break down and can build up on the walls of sewer pipes, creating blockages and potentially leading to stoppages or overflows. This can happen inside a home’s plumbing or once it passes into the larger sewer collection system. Because of this, we need our community’s help getting a handle on FOGs, before they get a handle on our system.
The best way to keep fats, oils, and grease out of your home’s plumbing is to scrape, soak and store.
Scrape leftovers in the trash, rather than grinding them up with the garbage disposal and rinsing them down the drain. The food particles can stick together in the line and form blockages.
Soak up remaining oil with a paper towel before rinsing pots and pans. Grease may appear to run easily down the drain, but it solidifies as it cools and can essentially act like a glue in the sewer system, trapping food particles and other items that get flushed or rinsed down the drain.
Store leftover grease in a paper carton. Some grease can be reused for cooking. Or you can dispose of it at a proper grease disposal center.
