Fats, Oils & Grease: The Real Peril to the Commercial Kitchen

The Problem with Fats, Oils & Grease

Fats, oils and grease (FOG) waste causes major problems in the UK to our drains and sewers. In liquid form, they may not appear to be harmful but when disposed of into the drainage system down kitchen sinks, toilets or drains, they mix with food and other sanitary waste, congeal and harden in the pipe. Over time this grows to form blockages.

Many sewer blockages occur because catering establishments have inadequate procedures in place to dispose of fats and food waste incorrectly. The use of food waste macerators only makes matters worse.

Blockages account for more than three quarters of sewer flooding incidents in the UK, with over 370,000 sewer blockages every year. This is caused by FOG, wipes, sanitary waste and other unflushable items.

The Environmental Impact

It is bad environmental practice not to dispose of your FOG appropriately. Our sewers were designed to carry sewage and no other forms of waste. Where these sewers also carry rainwater from our roofs and other paved areas, fatbergs can rapidly overload the network, which can lead to discharges of untreated sewage into our streams and rivers and cause sewage flooding. Commercial and food retail outlets are encouraged by Water UK to review the best practice guidelines to ensure your business has a robust system in place.

The Solution

At Edincare Pumps, we support the best practice guidelines published to ensure FOG is disposed of correctly to prevent them entering the drainage system.

We specify, provide, install and service a wide range of fats, oils and grease separators, to prevent them entering the drainage system particularly in commercial premises such as commercial kitchens.

Our separators ensure only clear water enters the drain. The FOG is then removed manually or by using a grease-digesting gel such as Edincare’s BioFax solution.

Our Grease Guardian range automatically removes the FOG so there’s no requirement for grease-digesting gels.

Read a client case study – Edincare was commissioned to retrofit a grease trap into an existing commercial kitchen in a well-known high street sandwich chain.

For further reading, check out this article on Water UK’s website.

Please contact us if you’d like help with your Fat, Oil and Grease Separator requirements. Call us on 01442 211554 or request a call back.

Image: Grease in drain, Water UK