Here at Food Grease Trappers, we’re all about keeping Fats, Oils, and Grease out of the sewers and storm drains. After all, the laws preventing these are there for good reason, as if those substances collectively known as F.O.G. make it into the sewer, they clog pipes and lead to overflows in your restaurant, the local water and sewer system, and puts unnecessary strain on and damage to treatment plants. But it’s not the only culprit: F.O.G. is actually F.O.G.S. with the last standing for “solids” and this last category exacerbates all the others, providing them with object to congeal around, which leads to the formation of Fatbergs.
Types of Solids
In a restaurant, your standard kitchen sink setup will contain a garbage disposal for convenience. However, this can quickly lead to its overuse when cleaning dishes. However this garbage disposal can be sometimes be treated as a garbage can, and have everything under the sun (and on the plate) thrown into it. Here are several of the most common solids that pass through the drain.
1. Fruit and Vegetables
From shredded lettuce to fibrous asparagus stocks to cherry pits, a lot of this makes its way into the sink and down the disposal, from the prep stations or dish washers. This is from the idea that it’s biodegradable, which it is, but that won’t change what it can do in the meantime, and the same mass it will have when it turns into sludge in grease trapper.
2. Meat and Bones
Leftover animal matter from prepping, cooking, or eating also falls into the “well, it’s organic waste” category of thought. Bones in particular, rugged chunks of calcium, will not break down by the time they reach the treatment plant, and have to be removed and sent to the landfill. If these things get lodged in pipes, they can take a long time to move on.
3. Cloth and Paper
Wipes, paper towels, and other “disposable” products have long been the bane of toilets around the world, and the same misplace belief can extend to kitchens. Packaging, wax or parchment paper, or other paper or paper-cotton blend items become magnets for grease and for clumps that form blockages and fatbergs, wads of fat and textiles the float around and clog sewers.
Solids and Your Grease Trap
Of course, if you’ve got a grease trap, it’s also going to fill with these solids. Depending on the type and size of your grease interceptor, and the schedule for servicing (by a company or employee), reducing the amount of solids that get dumped isn’t only good for the water system, but it also doesn’t fill the grease trap, meaning the trap is able to do its job longer and better than when it’s stuffed with food scraps.
Want to learn more about grease trappers and interceptors and how to get the most out of them for your restaurant’s kitchen? Contact Food Grease Trappers: we’re experts in inspections, replacements, installations, and servicing your restaurant’s grease traps or interceptors, and will come over for a free estimate of any issues you might have.
