SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — This Thanksgiving you may have a lot of leftover grease from cooking that big turkey, but the City of San Diego wants to remind you of the potential dangers when you don’t dispose of that grease properly.
Fats, oils and grease should not go down the drain as they cool and coat sewer pipelines leading to blockages, messy spills and the need for costly repairs.
“You can save yourself from expensive plumbing repairs by always remembering to properly dispose of fats, oils and grease,” said Juan Guerreiro, Director of the City’s Public Utilities Department. “Keeping them out of your drains and sewer lines can protect both your home and the environment.”
Guerreriro says proper disposal of these substances is also better for our environment. The spilled sewage can eventually reach San Diego’s bays, rivers and beaches, causing unsafe conditions and temporary closures.
Here are some tips that you and your guests can be reminded of to keep those pipes flowing freely through the holiday season:
- Never pour fats, oils or grease down the sink drain or garbage disposal. Home garbage disposals do not keep grease out of the plumbing system.
- Pour small amounts of cooled cooking oil (this includes salad dressing, frying oil and bacon fat) into a non-recyclable package or container, such as an old milk carton, and dispose of it in the garbage.
- Wipe dishes and pots that are coated with greasy leftovers with a disposable towel prior to washing or placing them in the dishwasher.
- Put strainers in sink drains to catch food scraps such as meat trimmings and other solids and then empty them in the trash, not the garbage disposal.
- Keep roots out of sewer pipelines by planting trees and bushes away from your home’s lateral connection to the sewer line.
