FOG & Restaurants

Dispose of fats, oil and grease (FOG) the right way to prevent major damage to your restaurant’s plumbing and sewer backups in nearby homes or businesses

• Pour food scraps, oil and grease into a grease can or container.
• Scrape food scraps into the garbage and not down the drain. Even running the garbage disposal doesn’t stop grease from going down the drain. 
• Pour or wipe excess oil and grease from dishes and cookware into the trash. 
• Cover sink drains with a catch basket and any floor drain with a screen. Throw collected food scraps into the garbage.

Grease Traps and Grease Interceptors

Fats, oils, grease and solids must be cleaned from a grease trap/interceptors on a regular basis in order for it to function properly. Grease traps must be 100 percent pumped out to maintain their effectiveness.  Waste haulers are not allowed to decant anything back into the grease trap/interceptor. The City of Oklahoma City maintains a list of permitted transporters that are allowed to operate in the City. Restaurants and businesses that generate grease are required to use only permitted transporters for the cleaning and transporting of liquid and grease wastes.

The use of enzymes, bacteria and other forms of bio-remediation is prohibited without prior approval of the City of Oklahoma City. These types of alternative treatments for FOG only work if conditions in the grease separation device are ideal. Otherwise, the FOG molecules are converted into shorter chain fatty acids, which may be flushed out of the grease separation device and into the sanitary sewer system. The fatty acids recombine into insoluble molecules, adhering to the surface of the sewer line and causing blockages in the collection system. 

National Restaurant Association, Fats, Oils and Grease Control Best Practices