Fat-Free Sewers

Helping to prevent sewer overflows and backups is easy

Fats, oils, and grease (FOG) can damage your home and the environment. Most of us know grease as the byproduct of cooking. Grease is found in such things as meat fats, cooking oil, shortening, sauces and dairy products. When these are washed down your sink, grease sticks to the insides of sewer pipes (both on your property and in the streets). Over time, it can build up and block the entire pipe. As this Pollution Prevention Resource Center (PPRC) video shows, the results can be:

  • Raw sewage overflowing in your home or your neighbor's home.
  • Raw sewage overflowing into parks, yards, and streets.
  • Potential contact with disease-causing organisms.
  • An increase in operation and maintenance costs for City utilities maintenance.

What you can do to help

  • Never pour grease down sink drains or into toilets.
  • Scrape grease and food scraps into a can or the trash for disposal.
  • Put baskets/strainers in sink drains and empty them into the trash.
  • Freeze the grease Collect your used oil and/or grease in a can, freeze it, and throw it in the trash.
  • Collect used cooking oil in a container with a screw-on cap and take it to Republic Services’ Recycle Depot at 110 NE Walnut Blvd Corvallis, OR 97330 (Monday-Sunday, 7 AM to 7 PM). Up to 1 gallon is accepted at a time.

Caution 

  • Home garbage disposals (that is, InSinkErators, food waste disposers, garburators, etc.) do not keep grease out of the plumbing system.
  • Products such as detergents that claim to dissolve grease may pass it down the line and cause problems elsewhere.

 

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