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Used cooking oil and food scraps are more than a hassle for your restaurant. Oils pose a threat to communities and the environment. That’s why many cities have been cracking down on the fats, oils, and grease (FOG) coming from restaurants, food carts, and food trucks. Restaurant FOG is a major problem in sewers around the world. You might not think of the issues that arise, but those grease and food particles coming from your restaurant meld with other items that get flushed like wet wipes, wrappers, and menstrual products....

According to OpenTable, there are more than 180 restaurants in or near Salem, Oregon. While restaurants may close their doors with little notice, and others open up every year, the thing to keep in mind is that those restaurants must have grease traps installed. Restaurant grease trap services in Salem, Oregon, ensure that fats, oils, and grease don’t end up in sewer lines. Have you seen any of the news articles about "fatbergs" blocking city sewer lines? Fats, oils, and grease solidify with materials like plastic, paper products, baby wipes,...

In 2022, Americans consumed approximately 11.5 metric tons of soybean oil, 2.9 metric tons of rapeseed oil, and 1.7 metric tons of palm oil. In addition to that, there were also high consumption rates of coconut, olive, sunflower seed, cottonseed, and peanut oils. While some of this consumption happened at home, a lot more happened in restaurants. It’s estimated that restaurants produce an average of 35 pounds of used grease and oil each day. By the end of a month, that’s around 1,050 pounds of used oil that must be...

Fats, oils, and grease (FOG) are found in all home and commercial kitchens, but they cannot be poured down the drain after cooking a meal. In fact, that’s one of the worst things a restaurant can do, and most of Oregon’s cities have ordinances in place to stop restaurants from doing this. Portland is one of them. Why? Portland spent $4.6 million removing FOG from clogged pipes in 2016. In 2017, sewer workers removed nearly 2.4 million pounds of FOG from the city’s sewer lines. While this isn’t a record-breaking...

How often are you cleaning your restaurant’s grease trap? If you don’t know, you could be in violation of Oregon’s laws, and you may need to pay for all of the hours it takes sanitation workers to free clogs and restore proper wastewater flow and pay for repairs to cement and pavement that had to be torn up to access the blocked pipe. You also face fines from the state or city. No restaurant owner wants to be in this position. You don't have to be as we can help...

Portland restaurants are required to have items within their kitchen areas that prevent fats, oil, and grease (FOG) out of the sewer lines. When FOG is poured down a drain, they cling to the sides of pipes, which creates blockages that cause wastewater to back up into homes and businesses. If your restaurant is responsible for a FOG blockage, you face steep fines and plenty of negative publicity. The Oregon Plumbing Specialty Code mandates that a new restaurant has grease traps installed before opening. This includes restaurants that are brand...

Pouring used cooking oil down a drain is not allowed. It can lead to substantial fines and clog city sewer lines with the solidified grease. Fats, oils, and grease (FOG) will combine with materials that residents flush or put down drains, such as flushable wipes, paper towels, and eggshells and form large clumps known as “fatbergs.” Fatbergs can do incredible damage. The largest fatberg found within the U.S. was around 100 feet long, 11 feet wide, and six feet tall and located in Detroit. With restaurants using an average of...

One of the biggest environmental hazards restaurants, grocery stores, caterers, and other food service companies produce are fats, oil, and grease (FOG). When it enters a stormwater drain, it can kill aquatic animals. Within your pipes or the city’s sewers, the fat builds up leading to blockages that create sewer backups and overflows. Those issues are not only environmental hazards and costly to cities, but they’re also dangerous to people as bacteria and fecal matter back up into homes and water bodies. What are you doing with your used cooking...