City Water Trust says: Don’t let fats, oils and grease gobble up your holiday fun — avoid the FOG

The holiday season is upon us, and that means lots of cooking with fats, oils, and grease, also known as FOG.

The Oklahoma City Utilities Department wants to remind residents to “prevent clogs by tossing your FOG.”

This means tossing fats, oils, grease, and other bulky food items into the trash, and not down the drain. If poured down the sink, FOG can clog sewer lines and cause costly repairs to the homeowner and the City.

In fact, more than one-third of sewer line blockages in Oklahoma City are caused by FOG.

To help prevent clogs, pour liquid FOG such as turkey grease or melted butter into an aluminum can or another lidded container, then place it in the freezer until the FOG becomes solid.

You can then toss the container into the trash. The City also recommends throwing all solid food remnants into the trash and using a paper towel to wipe out any remaining FOG from pots and pans before cleaning them in the sink or dishwasher.

For larger amounts of FOG, such as full containers from outdoor turkey fryers, the City recommends taking the grease to the Household Hazardous Waste Collection Center at 1621 S. Portland Ave. Regular hours are Tues-Friday 9:30 a.m. – 6 p.m. and Saturday 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. Note that The center follows the City’s regular holiday schedule. You can review that here:

https://www.city-sentinel.com/community/oklahoma-city-government-s-thanksgiving-holiday-weekend-schedule-is-set/article_292f69a0-6918-11ed-abd6-231de3e35ead.html

“People tend to think that small amounts of oil or grease don’t matter, or that their kitchen disposal will get rid of it” said Michelle Aumiller, Pretreatment Coordinator with the Oklahoma City Utilities Wastewater Quality Division.

“But they can build up over time and cause significant problems by clogging household plumbing or the City’s sewer lines. Throwing fats, oils, grease, and veggie or other peelings into the trash or compost bin is an easy way to avoid expensive plumbing visits and help prevent blockages in the City’s wastewater system.”

Aumiller notes that while FOG is a year-round problem, the holidays offer an important opportunity to remind people to be careful. “People tend to cook larger meals and use more grease and fat in their holiday cooking,” she said.

Common fats, oils and grease include butter, shortening, margarine, meat trimmings, poultry skin, cheese, milk, cream, sour cream, cooking oils, salad dressing, gravy, and mayonnaise.

Other items to toss include pie crusts, coffee grounds, onion, carrot and potato peels, and celery.

For more information on how you can protect your pipes from FOG and other contaminants, visit www.okc.gov/utilities.

Note: The Oklahoma City Water Utilities Trust serves more than 1.4 million residents in Central Oklahoma and is committed to providing water, wastewater, and trash collection services to safeguard public health and the environment, support public safety, and enable economic prosperity.