During the Thanksgiving holiday, many families enjoy preparing delicious home-cooked meals, often using more cooking oil for traditional favorites like deep-fried turkey. After the cooking is done, getting rid of large amounts of fats, oils and grease, known as FOG, can be a problem.
Never pour FOG down the drain or flush it down the toilet. That can clog the plumbing inside your home and lead to backups in our sanitary sewer system. Both can be costly to repair.
“When FOG is hot and liquid, it flows easily. But as it cools in the pipe, it solidifies and sticks to pipe walls. Over time, layers of hardened FOG build up, reducing the diameter of the pipe and causing a clog.” said Ashley Pike, the new Deputy Director of Compliance at the Evansville Water and Sewer Utility (EWSU). “Dumping fats, oils and grease on the ground is also a bad idea and can harm the environment.”
Instead, Pike urges EWSU customers to bring used cooking oils to the Cooking Oil Disposal Event on Saturday, November 29, from 8am to 1pm at Sunrise Pump Station. The event is hosted by EWSU and the City Engineer’s Office in partnership with American Grease & Sceptic.
As the MS4 Coordinator for the City of Evansville, Matt McBride monitors stormwater runoff and pollution. He also coordinates the annual cooking oil event and is passionate about protecting our environment.
“As residents of a river city, we are duty bound to protect our waterways from sewer overflows that blockages from FOG buildup can cause,” said McBride. “Recycling used cooking oil is an easy and environmentally responsible way that you can help protect our city’s engineered and natural drainage systems from FOG-related blockages and overflows.”
Only used cooking oils and grease will be accepted, such as canola oil, corn oil, olive oil, vegetable oil and meat drippings. Petroleum oil waste will not be allowed. This is a free service for EWSU city and county residential customers only. FOG from restaurants and commercial establishments will not be allowed.
Note: A grease waste collection station will be set up in the parking lot between Sunrise Pump Station and the skatepark next to Mickey’s Kingdom. The entrance to the parking lot is across from Shawnee Drive at Veterans Memorial Parkway
