FOG Pretreatment

Noncompliance with pretreatment regulations creates serious problems, both for the violator and for the wastewater system operator.

While ordinances, fines and consistent enforcement are essential, they are not sufficient for effective pretreatment. After all, the goal of a pretreatment program is to maintain water quality, reduce the load on water treatment plants and minimize sewer system maintenance costs.

The best way to achieve those goals is to prevent pretreatment ordinance violations in the first place.

Here are five key tools that every effective pretreatment program should have. Combined, these elements can reduce the enforcement burden while also maintaining a cleaner, more efficient wastewater treatment system.

It’s not very often that wastewater system workers are hailed as heroes in the headlines around the world. But in August 2013, that’s what happened.

News media around the world picked up the story of London’s ‘fatberg,’ a bus-sized, 33,000-pound mass of fats, oils and grease that had clogged an 8-foot diameter sewer line.

The English newspaper The Guardian reported:

“A sewage worker has become an unlikely hero after taking three weeks to defeat a toxic 15-tonne ball of congealed fat the size of a bus that came close to turning parts of the London borough of Kingston upon Thames into a cesspit.”

If you own a restaurant or other business within the foodservice industry, chances are good you’re already using some sort of grease interceptor. If not, sooner or later you’ll likely face clogged pipes, back-ups into your kitchen and costly fines.

In the United States, there are three types of grease interceptors generally found within the foodservice industry: small passive hydromechanical grease interceptors (sometimes referred to as grease traps), larger grease interceptors made out of plastic, fiberglass, steel or concrete, and automatic grease removal devices. Though using any of these options is better than nothing, all grease traps are not created equally and, as technology improves, so do grease interceptors.

Picture a commercial kitchen during peak rush -- the staff hurriedly prepares food while wait staff bustles in to retrieve orders and bring in stacks of dirty dishes, all in the presence of hot ovens, slippery floors and boiling pots. 

So, what can you do to make sure your kitchen is as safe as possible? Check out the tips below. Read on to learn some basic safety principles and tips that can help reduce the risk of injury, decrease insurance costs and keep your commercial kitchen running smoothly. 

Dr. A. Robert “Bob" Rubin is an emeritus professor and former extension specialist in the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering at North Carolina State University. He spent more than a quarter century there doing research, teaching and public service. He’s testified before Congress, spoken to international meetings of researchers and policy experts and been honored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for his service. He was kind enough to talk to us about the changes he’s seen in the last 30-plus years in wastewater treatment and what he expects in the coming years.