Dealing With FOG

FOG (fats, oils and grease) is a constituent of wastewater, typically originating from food stuffs (animal fats or vegetable oils), or consisting of compounds of alcohol or glycerol with fatty acids (soaps and lotions).

Fat found in onsite wastewater treatment systems, such as septic tanks and grease traps, is animal fat, oil from vegetables, cooking oils and grease from petroleum-based soaps. FOG is generally treated onsite by separating them from the wastewater stream.

FOG in wastewater will generally originate in the kitchen, and usually comes from disposing of animal- or vegetable-based food scraps and liquids down the sink. An increased use of cooking oils will also directly increase the FOG concentration in the wastewater.

It is important to try to contain FOG early in the system because it can accumulate inside pipes and lead to clogging of downstream components.

Learn more about what FOG is, and how it can impact your wastewater systems here.

The regulations governing the proper treatment and disposal of FOG can vary greatly from one locale to another. At LES, we’ve developed our own, proprietary FOGLaw database, which we update as laws change. This extremely valuable tool ensures that our team is always up to date – and your organization is always compliant. Guaranteed.

Learn more about what sets us apart, including our compliance guarantee, here.

Credit: Pumper.