Metro Vancouver officials want you to think twice before putting cooking oil or grease down the drain.
Once you’ve laid eyes on a ‘fatberg,’ it’s easy to see why.
“Putting grease down the drain can cause big problems, not only for municipal sewers but also for household plumbing systems,” said North Vancouver Mayor and chair of Metro Vancouver’s Utilities Committee, Darrell Mussatto.
When washed down the drain, these materials form “fatbergs,” congealed masses of fat that clog pipes and can eventually lead sewage to overflow into the environment. The culprits include cooking oil, shortening, butter, lard and meat drippings.
Mussatto said municipalities in the region spend more than $2 million a year to unblock sewage pipes and replace infrastructure damaged by the grease buildup.
Launched Friday, the “Wipe It, Green Bin It” campaign is aimed at getting people to compost their grease instead of putting it down the drain.
“As we celebrate Thanksgiving with fat-rich foods like gravy and roast turkey, we hope residents will use this easy method to dispose of their oil and cooking fats,” Mussatto said. “Simply wipe grease up with paper towel and place it in your green bin instead of pouring it down the drain."
The program has already been successfully piloted in Surrey and Richmond.
“We saw a marked different,” Mussatto said. “The pipes kept a lot cleaner and it was a lot less money for us to clean those drains.”
Organics recycling programs accept small amounts of oil and grease. Those who need to dispose of large quantities must do so at specialized recycling depots. A list of these facilities is available on the Metro Vancouver Recycles website.
Mussatto also discourages the use of garburators, adding that it costs local governments 10 times more to dispose of organic materials processed through these devices than those placed in green bins.
