We’ve all been guilty of pouring a pan of grease down the drain before. “One time won’t hurt anything,” we tell ourselves (for the fifth time). Luckily, restaurants and other establishments are restricted from doing the same thing, and an increasing number of codes and fines are ensuring their adherence.
Allowing grease and other oils into the drainage system causes a lot of damage, especially if you consider that larger restaurants may produce up to 40 gallons of grease a week! Generally, grease traps or interceptors are suggested or required for any establishment that could cause blockage or hinder sewage treatment with the amount of grease that goes through their drain.
Grease traps, or interceptors, separate the FOG (fats, oils and greases) and solids from the water by employing simple gravity: the FOG floats and the solids sink, so the water is free to exit in the middle. The technology behind grease traps has remained relatively unchanged for over 100 years, so despite their inherent simplicity the traps work efficiently (95-98%) when properly cleaned and maintained.
Once the greases and solids are separated, they have to be removed from the interceptor on a regular basis to keep the trap working properly. This process is imperative because the separation efficiency decreases as the trap fills. If the trap is entirely full, no separation is occurring at all, rendering the trap useless. The type and size of interceptor used, as well as the FOG output from the restaurant help deter mine how often the trap must be cleaned.
In other words, simply having a grease trap is not enough. Despite requiring grease trap installation to keep sewage systems clear, cities can still face costly damages from sewer blockage and backups due to grease trap buildups.
Property and sewer system damages have prompted many cities to develop new ordinances enforcing regular cleaning and maintenance of grease traps. Some regulations also designate the specific equipment and drains that must have a trap.
In many cases these regulations come with a fierce set of teeth. You break it, you buy it, cities are saying. Owners may be required to pay for cleaning the systems, clearing blockages and/or repairing damages caused by improper maintenance of their company’s interceptor(s). Cities have also stepped up inspections to catch the problem before the damage is done. Maywood, N.J. and Stockton, Calif. are just two of the cities across the United States implementing grease trap laws.
The Grease Trap series will continue with the differences and benefits of available intercepts, environmental impact and trap installation and close with design and operation tips!