Holiday Cooking Can Be Bad For ECUA Sewers And Home Plumbing

November 26, 2014

The Thanksgiving holiday means special times with family, friends, lots of delicious food and the potential for sanitary sewage overflows (SSOs). No matter how the meal is prepared, it will certainly generate fats, oils and grease, or FOG, Which can be damaging to the Emerald Coast Utilities Authority sewer system and your household plumbing.

Keep your plumbing and the sewer system free from blockages and overflows by properly disposing of FOG this holiday season. Many homeowners may be surprised to learn that pouring the fatty remains of culinary delights down the kitchen drain can result in costly and unpleasant SSOs. Besides the mess, untreated sewage can cause health hazards and threaten the environment. Overflows can also require expensive cleanup.

Cooks should avoid depositing other oil-based foods down the drain and garbage disposal. No-nos include fatty substances such as lards or shortening, butter or margarine, food scraps, dairy products, batter and icing, salad dressings and sauces. For more  information on ways to keep your kitchen clean and green, visit www.ecua.fl.gov.

Conscientious cooks should:

  • Throw food scraps in the trash
  • Use a paper towel to wipe away residue from serving dishes and plates
  • Rinse these items over a sink strainer to catch and dispose of any remaining  food particles

Any grease left-over from holiday cooking should be poured into a heat-safe can, place it in the freezer to cool and harden, and toss the can out with regular garbage. If you’re planning to deep-fry a turkey, put the used fryer oil back in its original container or use an ECUA Cooking Oil Disposal Container. Drop it off at an ECUA Disposal Station to be recycled into biodiesel fuel. ECUA has several conveniently placed stations throughout the community:

Clean & Green
3303 North Davis Highway

Baskerville Donovan Engineering
449 West Main Street

ECUA at Ellyson Industrial Park
9255 Sturdevant Street

ECUA Sanitation Department
3050 Godwin Lane

ECUA Bayou Marcus Water Reclamation Facility
3050 Fayal Drive

Pensacola Beach on Via de Luna Drive

Between Pensacola Beach Elementary School and Our Lady of Assumption Catholic Church

NAS Pensacola (Military and Base Personnel ONLY)
Andrew Jackson Court
Fort Santa Maria de Galve Hase Road
Slemmer Avenue
Murray Street and Billingsley Street
Corry Field Housing at NAS Corry Station

Escambia County Sheriff’s Sub Station Serving Perdido Key & Grand Lagoon
12950 Gulf Beach Highway

For additional information visit the ECUA website www.ecua.fl.gov or call ECUA Customer Service (850) 476-0480.

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Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News