Fats, Oils, and Grease aka FOG
Include any substance such as a used vegetable cooking oil or animal product that is used in, or is a byproduct of, the cooking, deep frying or food preparation process, and that turns or may turn viscous or solidifies with a change in temperature or other conditions.
Uncontrolled and/or inadequately controlled discharges of Fats, Oils, and Grease (FOG) into municipal sanitary sewage systems has caused a significant number of raw sewage overflows resulting in public health risks and negative impacts to waterways. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) developed two rules to address this problem.
- The SSO Rule (Sanitary Sewer Overflow)
- CMOM Rule (Capacity, Management Operations and Maintenance of Sewers)
Both of these rules require municipalities to establish regulations, rules and procedures to control FOG disposal requirements and enforcement of FOG regulations. In the EPA's Report to Congress on combined sewer overflows (CSOs) and sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs) identified that "grease from restaurants and other industrial sources are the most common cause (47%) of reported sewage blockages. Grease and Oils in particularity are the most problematic because it solidifies, reducing conveyance capacity, and blocking proper sewage flow. Controlling FOG discharges will help publicly owned treatment works (POTWs) prevent or lower the risks of blockages that impact sewage overflows, which cause public health and can impact water quality issues. Controlling FOG discharges from Food Service Establishments (FSEs) is an essential element to prevent sewage overflows, blockages, and reduce costs for all municipalities.
What is the source of FOG at Food Service Establishments?
Fats, Oils, and Greases (FOG) captured on-site is generally classified into two broad categories: yellow grease and grease waste. Yellow grease is derived from used cooking oil and waste greases that are separated and collected at the point of use by the food service establishment.
The annual production of collected and uncollected grease that enters the sewage treatment plants today are significant and ranges from 800/lbs to 17,000/lbs per year/per restaurant.
Our Intelligent Oil Management process is a closed loop system. Meaning that you can remove the risk to your employees, accidental or incidental FOG run off and spills. That may lead to costly fines, compliance issues, and community health concerns. Even with a rendering process in place, oil run-off adds up, causing issues to your customers and the community you serve.
Are you still doing things the old way? Reduce Fats, Oils, and Grease run-off. All while increasing quality, consistency, and safety.
Removing incidental used cooking oil run-off from your cities public works system is more than just good business. FOG issues can lead to health concerns, lingering odors, un-wanted creatures and critters and cost the community millions yearly to repair.No matter how you dispose of your oil, if you of your employees have to handle potentially scolding hot oil, roll it on an open cart to a remote collection bin, and manually pour the waste oil into a container. You will have run-off. Even as small as a splash on the lid of the container, rain and elements can carry those Fats, Oils, and Greases into the public sewage system. Hardening and constricting the cities infrastructure drains, and slowly becoming a problem for your community.
Ready to create a Safer, Smarter Kitchen today?
Implementing our Total Oil Management service is as easy as setting up an on-site survey. Our local technicians will come out and give your restaurant a personalized oil review, and show you the benefits; from cost savings, to reducing workers compensation claims. There’s no upfront capital cost and no unexpected service charges – we stand behind our system and we include everything.
