Utilities Kingston is reminding residents to never flush cooking fats, oils and greases, or pour them down the drain. They clog pipes, and cause sewer back-ups and problems with treatment equipment.

Grease is often poured down the sink as a warm liquid. As the liquid cools, grease solidifies and causes build-up inside the pipes to restrict the flow of wastewater. The consequences can be:

• Raw sewage backing up into your home
• An unpleasant and costly clean-up at the homeowner’s expense
• Damage to the environment if wastewater overflows into parks, yards, streets, and local waterways
• Health and safety risks (including for example, hepatitis, bacterial infections, hypodermic needles, and slips and falls) for both the individuals cleaning up sewage, as well as wastewater treatment operators

Each year, considerable resources are spent cleaning grease-clogged pipes and equipment throughout the municipal wastewater treatment system.

Proper FOG Disposal

Meats, sauces, gravies, salad dressings, deep fried dishes, dairy products, soups, chili, pastas, pastries, butter and margarine are all foods that contain fats, oils, and greases and should never be flushed or poured down the drain.

• DO scrape grease and food scraps from plates, pots, pans, utensils, grills, and cooking surfaces and place them in your Green Bin.
• DO wipe out greasy pots, pans, and utensils with paper towel before putting them into the sink. Soiled paper towels can be disposed of in your Green Bin.
• DO pour cooled grease, fat, or lard into a paper cup. Let the material solidify and then place in your Green Bin.
• DO use a strainer in the sink to catch food scraps and other solids.
• DO inform family members, friends, and neighbours about the problem with FOG in the sewer system and how to keep it out.
• DO learn about proper waste disposal, using the City of Kingston’s terrific online tool: Waste Sorting Look-up.

Other top offenders that don’t break down in treatment equipment include wipes, paper towel, feminine hygiene products, dental floss, needles and hair, and these should be disposed of in the garbage.

Learn how to properly dispose of these items, and protect your home and health by knowing what not to flush. Visit www.utilitieskingston.com/KnowWhatToFlush