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Greased piping

Grease from French fries, hot wings and other oily foods is clogging Seattle's drainpipes.
By Jessica A. Knoblauch
Tue, Jan 19 2010 at 3:42 PM EST
Read more: FOOD, POLLUTION, WASTE

Photo: Jupiter Images
Consuming too many greasy foods is obviously bad for your health, but it turns out food grease can also wreak havoc on the environment by clogging up sewer pipes, according to a recent Seattle PI story.
 
The Seattle Public Utilities found that each month the equivalent of seven large swimming pools of grease make their way down Seattle’s drains, causing about 30 percent of Seattle’s sewer backups. 
 
Once fats, oils and greases, or FOGs, make it into the pipes, they eventually glob into a hard substance that can block pipes and cause stinky bubbles to foam up in your sink drain. But the problem isn’t just in Seattle. Many cities also have similar issues, especially ones with old pipes or meat-eating residents.
 
The obvious culprits are restaurants that wash a lot of greasy dishes. To help cut down on the greasy issue, the city of Seattle is now requiring that all restaurants install grease traps to minimize the amount of muck that makes it into the drain. But since some Seattle restaurants opened before this requirement went into effect, only about 1,000 out of 2,600 food service places have these devices, according to the article.
 
Residential homes are another common source of the grease, especially when people put food items like sour cream, bacon bits and even ice cream down the garbage disposal, which wreaks havoc on the pipes. In fact, more than half of Seattle’s clogged pipes are found in residential neighborhoods, pollution prevention coordinator Julie Howell told the PI.
 
"One thing that has been a real surprise in this industry — one thing people have learned over time is that there is much bigger residential component than people might think," she said. 
 
Though a little bit of food grease down the drain seems harmless enough, scraping that gunk out of the pipes can actually be quite costly, around $1,500 a pop, which is why Seattle is trying to educate people about the issue. In addition to putting up informational posters, the utility agency’s Web site also has a ton of tips on how to keep grease from clogging the drain.
 

 
Of course, one fast and easy way to cut the grease is to simply not eat greasy foods in the first place, which is both better for the environment and your health. But for those days when you absolutely must indulge with greasy foods, be sure to scrape the food grease off of your plates and pans and toss it into a throwaway container. This may seem wasteful, but it’s better than mucking up your pipes or your compost bin with grease, which this MNN article warns about.
 
Some restaurants have begun giving their food grease to local manufacturers that convert the grease into biofuel or even soap, such as the high-end hand soap company, Further, according to this MNN report. If all else fails and your drain is already clogged, trying using an eco-friendly drain cleaner like Earth Enzymes or CLR, which is great for busting up heavy-duty messes. 


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Comments(7)

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Posted By Obbop - Mon, Feb 22 2010 at 5:46 PM EST

Salivating

Oh how I slaver in delightful anticipation of filling my gaping maw with freshly cooked french fries.

I do prefer the crinkle-cut variety.

The multitude of little ridges and crevasses created by the "crinkles" assists in keeping substances dipped into upon the french fry.

Almost as yummylicious as crinkle-cut fries are the steak fry style that are much larger than a standard fry.

If seasoned properly a baked "french fry" can be quite tasty but without the grease.... More

Posted By chucky - Wed, Jan 20 2010 at 6:51 PM EST

and we thought

Its all of the munchies those people have after medicating themselves with THC ....

Posted By Jessica - Thu, Jan 21 2010 at 4:33 PM EST

A bit of a stretch, no?

Wow. I hope that was a joke. Otherwise it's just another sorry example of ignorance.This article has nothing to do with anything THC related and it is a stretch to make it that way. Maybe it's all of the meat-eaters who are too lazy to change their lifestyle. Why can't it just be what it is instead of turning it into a judgement of people with a different lifestyle?

Posted By Joe Faux - Wed, Jan 20 2010 at 1:42 PM EST

The City Has An Opportunity Here...

While educating the restaurants to not dump their grease is not a solution. Infrastructure should be create to make it easier for these businesses to dispose of the grease. Blaming the consumer for eating the food does not solve the problem. Once an infrastructure for grease disposal is in place, the city could funnel this grease and process it for use in diesel generators for utility use. Hospital generators, public utility vehicles, etc. That might prove not only a green initiative, but.... More

Posted By Obbop - Wed, Jan 20 2010 at 1:25 PM EST

Arteries

That sewer main is merely an ultra-large example of the sludge built-up and still accumulating within my arteries and veins and capillaries and packed within my fat cells and I blame it on Clinton, Bush and Obama and the cheap food I am forced to consume as I compete with millions of illegal aliens for evermore scarce resources.

" There's class warfare, all right, Mr. (Warren) Buffett said, but it's my class, the rich class, that's making war, and we're winning."

Posted By Anonymous - Wed, Jan 20 2010 at 1:04 PM EST

Old and tired

Get with the times, fats are necessary and good for you - provided you don't eat like a pig.

Posted By Jean-Claude - Wed, Jan 20 2010 at 9:59 AM EST

Made for FARK

"Each month the equivalent of seven large swimming pools of grease make their way down Seattle's drains, proving hippies do take baths once in awhile "

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