CITY OF BRUNSWICK
Water and Wastewater Department
P. O. Box 550
Brunswick GA 31521-0550
William C. Francis
Voice: (912) 267-5509
Fax: (912) 261-8288
E-mail: wfrancis@brunswickga.org
August 27, 2004
Stop the Grease Goblin
THE GREASE GOBLIN Taking a shower, washing dishes and clothes, flushing the toilet are such normal day-to-day activities that we take them for granted. As long as everything goes down the drain and there's no foul odor, life is wonderful.

But where does it go when it goes down the drain? Does it magically disappear? Oh, no! All this wastewater travels underground through miles and miles of sanitary sewers where it eventually reaches the City of Brunswick's Academy Creek Water Pollution Control Facility (the sewage treatment plant). After it's treated, it's discharged into Academy Creek.

But there is a monster lurking in the sewers. He is the bad guy of this story. He is called the Grease Goblin. For the Grease Goblin to win, all we have to do is let him get away from us. He tries to escape down our drains to do his dirty work underground, hiding away from view. If we don't capture him before he gets into drains, he goes to work blocking the sewers. He crawls through the sewer, leaving his foul slime coating the walls of the pipe. As the coating gets thicker and thicker, there is less and less space for normal sewage to flow. Before long, sewage is backing up and could even overflow out onto the surface.

The most common problem in sanitary sewers is stoppages caused by fats oils and grease. Pouring food wastes down the drain results in the grease coating the inside of sewers and restricting the flow of sewage. The buildup of grease in sewers eventually blocks the lines and causes sewage to back up. It can even cause discharges of raw sewage, threatening the public health. The clogging of sewers by grease buildup has been compared to the clogging of arteries in the human body by cholesterol plaque.

Adding detergent gives the illusion of "dissolving" grease. In fact, all it does is move the problem a little further downstream, since the grease is not dissolved but just temporarily suspended. Pouring hot water down the drain on top of grease is another way to fool yourself into thinking the grease disappears. As soon as the heated grease hits the cooler pipes, it cools and quickly solidifies into a pipe-clogging layer that thickens each time it is done.

Grease that makes it to the treatment plant creates problems that interfere with proper treatment of sewage. The treatment plant uses biological processes to clean up the sewage. Fats, oils and grease are not treated by these processes. They actually interfere by coating the bacteria that do the work of cleaning the water. Since oil and grease naturally float, a lot of it passes through the plant and creates visible residue on the surface of receiving waters.

The City of Brunswick's Water and Wastewater Department developed its Fats, Oils and Grease Management Program two years ago to reduce problems caused by grease buildup in sanitary sewer lines. The program requires restaurants and other food service facilities to install and maintain properly designed grease traps. City staff also educates and assists food service employees in the many different ways of reducing food waste. The key to preventing sewer blockages and overflows, whether from a home kitchen or from a large restaurant, is keeping the grease out of the sewers. Keeping it out is easier and cheaper than taking it out.

Remember that any stoppages caused by something you put down the drain are your responsibility. If it is on your property, you must pay a plumber to clear it. If a user puts anything down the drain that causes a stoppage on the building sewer on public property or a stoppage in a main, the City of Brunswick is authorized by City Code to collect reimbursement from that user for all costs involved in investigation and cleanup.

Please help us to stop the Grease Goblin before he clogs your sewer.

PLEASE FOLLOW THESE SIMPLE KITCHEN DO'S AND DON'TS
  • DON'T pour cooking oil, grease or foods down the drain or flush down the toilet.

  • DO pour leftover oil and grease into a separate container such as an empty coffee can and discard in the trash.

  • DON'T put greasy foods down the drain or in the garbage disposal!

  • DO wipe out pots and pans with paper towels before washing and scrape leftover foods from plates into the trash. Spatulas do a great job.

  • DON'T forget to use the strainer in the sink drain to capture food waste!

  • DO clean the strainers and dispose of the captured food waste in the garbage.

  • DON'T flush grease or cooking oil down the sink with hot water or soap.

  • DON'T use any bacteria, emulsifier or product that claims to "eat" or "dissolve" grease. These products only cause a problem further down your pipes, the sewer system and the sewage treatment plant. (If these products really worked, there wouldn't be a problem with grease in any sanitary sewer system.)

  • DON'T use garbage disposal units for any meat waste.

  • DO limit use of a disposal unit to small amounts of vegetable waste. Large amounts should go into the garbage can.

Provided by the City of Brunswick Water and Wastewater Department as part of a series of public education articles. The Grease Goblin and associated materials are provided by the North Carolina Division of Pollution Prevention and Environmental Assistance (DPPEA) located in the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
For more information on the web, go to the following sites:
Published July 26, 2004 edition of The Islander
Scheduled for publication July 30, 2004 edition of The Brunswick News

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