If you’ve been paying attention to the news, you may have seen a recent article with a familiar word if you read our monthly blog: fatberg. In this story, covered by various news sources (our favorite was Divers swim through 90 feet of raw sewage to unclog giant, hairy ‘fatberg’ from the NY Post), covers a North Carolina fatberg – a collection of various materials held together by congealed grease and less savory filth – that had plugged the Plum Island Wastewater Treatment Center. This article, while disgusting and humorous by itself, highlights the issues US wastewater systems face, especially when it comes to what individuals and businesses flush down the drains. [Read more…]
Grease Traps in the News: 2018 Summer Edition
It’s already been a year of the “In the News” series, where we look and highlight various grease trap related news located in and around the United States. As always, we’re highlighting the various issues that can arise around grease traps, from failing to meet regulation and regular maintenance to grease trap safety and legislation. This time around, we’re covering the importance of certified maintenance, the “Uber for grease traps,” and a new UK association to help prevent fatbergs from forming. [Read more…]
The Science of Grease Backups and Overflows
From Arne Hendriks on Flickr
If you’ve spent any time in Food Grease Trapper blog archives, it should come as no surprise to you when we say “you shouldn’t dump grease down the drain.” However, some people ask why, and aren’t satisfied with the short answers of “your restaurant is required to have one, it can clog your pipes, and damage your sewers water treatment plants.” For those people who want the “why” behind it, we’ve written this blog to look at the science behind horrible things happening to your building and sewer when you don’t have a grease trap installed. [Read more…]
Grease Traps in the News: Winter Edition
As we reach the end of winter and dig ourselves out of the most recent nor’easter, let’s look back on how grease traps and their restaurants have been fairing. For some restaurants winter (especially bad winters) means a decrease of customers and therefore less strain on the grease trap. While many cafes see are flocked by natives and tourists alike, and the holidays themselves can lead to surges of celebrations that can strain restaurant grease interceptors and wastewater systems alike. It’s a mixed bag. [Read more…]
Fatbergs: A United States Without Grease Traps
Fatbergs are massive collections of congealed fat, oils, grease, and solids (FOGS) that form in sewers. We’ve written about them before, and if you’d like a complete definition, please check out Fatberg Ahoy! How Could They Happen? for all the details. Two reasons we’re bringing it up again. First, London, England just had another massive fatberg threaten to completely clog up its sewers. Secondly, to shed light on why this is an issue in the UK but not the United States. [Read more…]
Oil and Wastewater: Your Restaurant and the City
Left untreated, the wastewater from a restaurant will not only damage the restaurant, but also the city’s water pipes and wastewater treatment plant. It’s one of the major reasons cities and counties have fines in place for restaurants to pre-treat their wastewater before it enters the sewers. However, this is more than just avoiding city fines: when your kitchen’s pipes clog, it can shutter your restaurant as wastewater and potentially even sewage flow back into your restaurant from the pipes. To understand the value of grease traps and interceptors, it’s important to understand how FOG (fats, oils, and grease) become an issue in the first place. [Read more…]
Fatberg Ahoy! How Could They Happen?
One can only imagine what the sewer system beneath them might be holding, and it does not bring any pleasant pictures to mind. Most probably imagine a dark, damp, dingy tunnel filled with waste and rats the size of a household pet. But what is really lurking under there? Most wouldn’t picture a grease blockage the size of a large bus accumulating inside a sewer drain. [Read more…]
