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But restaurants, from the diner to the fast food place
to the chi-chi bistro, have better ways of dealing with
fats than pouring them into old coffee cans and putting
them into the trash. The grease trap was invented to
take care of the fats, oils and greases (abbreviated as
FOGs) that come from food preparation. Grease traps do
more than prevent FOGs from entering the sewers in mass
quantities: they provide a way to recycle greases, which
can be used to make fuel. Some owners of diesel driven
trucks and cars have discovered that a low tech
filtering process can transform kitchen grease into
clean, useful fuel that leaves a scent of French fries,
not crude oil, behind. Recycling kitchen grease makes
sense, and when it's in large quantities, is makes a lot
of sense: someday, the whole world may be powered by
fats! If you have a grease trap, you can call a recycler
that specializes in FOGs: at intervals, they will come
and take the grease away for filtering and refining.
Grease traps work by providing a storage and
collection area for kitchen greases that would otherwise
wind up clogging up drains and creating havoc in the
sewers. They are either designed on site to conform to
the building code, or they can be purchased as entire
units. They are designed to let in water, to let the
grease float on top, and to provide a place for solids,
which will drop to the bottom of the tank. The trap
should be designed so that when water that enters the
trap is warm, it cools before leaving the trap. When the
water cools, the fats that may have been melted in the
water also cool and harden, separating from the water to
float on top of the trap. If the fats stay melted in
warm water, they will move out of the trap with the
water and enter the wastewater drains.
Grease traps can be underground tanks or areas inside
the building, depending on the size and location of the
restaurant as well as the local building code
requirements. Building codes also determine the
requirements for the size of a trap, which is important
because an overloaded trap won't work correctly. It's
also important to have the grease trap installed by a
reputable company: some estimates say that around
one-quarter of grease traps are installed incorrectly.
Grease traps are usually cleaned every other week or
once a month, depending on the size of the trap and the
amount of grease used in the kitchen. Most restaurants
establish a cleaning schedule and assign it to
employees—it's one of the more unpleasant duties of a
restaurant worker. The solids on the bottom of the tank
as well as the FOGs from the top are removed in regular
cleanings. Sediment and greases are disposed of in
containers usually stored outside, and are protected
from spilling. Grease trap cleaning and maintenance is
important: if grease traps aren't cleaned when they
should be, they stop working, and the grease as well as
the water flows through the trap and into the wastewater
lines.
Failing to maintain a grease trap can result in
violation of building codes, city ordinances and food
safety regulations. It can result in fines and in costly
plumbing repairs. There are companies that specialize in
cleaning grease traps, so the harried restaurateur
doesn't need to bother with it. Otherwise, the cleaning
may be relegated to bussers, dishwashers or waitpersons
who have received proper and thorough training.
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