Translating…
Back in the day I put meat scrapes down the garbage disposal. It made life simpler. I don’t flush meat down the drain anymore – let me tell you why:
My time working for the Public Works Department (the lucky folks who maintain sewer pipes) taught me well the lessons of “FOG”. No, not fog, the damp stuff that hangs in the air and makes it hard to see more than three feet in front of you but FOG: F ats, O ils, and G rease. FOG is the leading cause of publicly (ie you) induced sewer spills. And that’s because “FOG” doesn’t just disappear, it accumulates and plugs up sewer pipes.
Sewage spills are no laughing matter. Public Utilities must grade them by severity. For example, a spill larger than 1000 gallons is a Category 1 Sanitary Sewer Overflow or “SSO”. Also, any amount of sewage entering a storm drain or surface water is also considered a Category 1 SSO.
We didn’t like SSO’s very much. Short of a bursting water main, nothing spoiled a Public Works employee’s day more. You must rush out to the spill, contain it, and vacuum it away before it can reach surface water or a storm drain. You hose it down with disinfectant. You get to obstruct traffic while you’re doing all this. You have 2 hours to call about 150 different government agencies (OK, you only have contact about 4 government agencies but it feels like 150) and tell them every wrenching detail of your spill! And of course, there’s the hideous clean-up cost your community must also absorb.
Please don’t plug up the sewer! Whether you plug up your own drain pipes or the city’s pipes, you won’t be happy. Instead, follow these tips to help avoid sewer blockages:
1. Place left over grease into containers with lids, such as jars, and place into your trash receptacle for pick up.
2. Don’t put meat scraps down your garbage disposal; throw them into the trash instead. Better yet, why not spare your local landfill from burying millions of tons of food scraps and implement a food rescue or recycling program in your town. This keeps food from going to waste. Or you can compost your leftovers.
3. Don’t put automotive or industrial waste down the drain. These fluids are just ridiculously toxic and can seriously impair the sewage treatment process. Take these to your local hazardous waste recycler instead.
4. Don’t put any animal bones, skin or fat down the disposal. Throw them in the trash or compost them.
5. Cleaning a greasy pan? Pour the grease into a sealed container, wipe excess grease from the pan with paper towels and then place the soiled towels into the trash. Some communities will collect your grease filled containers and route them to the local rendering plant for processing.
6. If using a deep fat fryer, mix oils with absorbent material, such as cat litter, and put into the trash. Also, your local rendering plant may have a grease and oil collection service for restaurants to utilize.
7. Don’t put rice or pasta down the garbage disposal as they have the nasty habit of expanding inside drain pipes and blocking them. The same can be said for potato peels as the gluten within them sticks to pipes like chewing gum sticks to your favorite shoes.
8. In fact, don’t put peelings of any kind down the disposal. Don’t put stringy vegetables down there either unless you want to pay for your plumber’s kid’s college education.
Then what good is that garbage disposal anyway? Well, you can place small quantities of food debris down there at a time. That would be the stuff that’s still stuck to your dishes after you’ve scrapped them off.
I realize that these precautions may seem burdensome, so keep in mind that sewage spills are expensive and dangerous. Also, a few extra steps taken while washing your dishes and pans are better for you then having your plumber on speed dial. And Heaven knows your local Public Works Department will thank you for making the additional effort to protect your community’s sanitation system!