Scenario: You’ve been up since 6 a.m. to get the turkey in the oven; this is after staying up late to finish the pies and desserts. It’s 7 p.m. The in-laws are gone. The dishwasher has been loaded. But one giant task remains – CLEAN OUT the ROASTING PAN or if you fried the turkey dispose of an entire vat of cooking oil.
Don’t put cooking oil and grease down the drain! It can be put in with your garbage, in a tightly-sealed container.
Just as fatty foods clog arteries, fats, oils and grease stick to the inside of pipes causing blockages and backups of raw sewage that can put public health and the environment at risk.
King County offers environmentally friendly tips to keep the plumber off your party guest list while helping us keep our sewers fat-free all year long.
- Put baskets and strainers in sinks to catch food scraps.
- Don’t put greasy food or meat in garbage disposals.
- Before washing dishes, use a spatula to scrape batter and food residue from bowls and plates.
- Never pour oil or grease into a drain, which can harm wildlife.
- Consider recycling large quantities of cooking oil from deep fryers at one of several Puget Sound area locations.
King County’s EcoConsumer Program did a great write up on recycling cooking oil and grease. Cooking oil from deep fryers does have value, to be recycled as biofuel, so that’s a better idea. General Biodiesel has collection locations around western Washington – check their website or call them for info.
General Biodiesel’s drop-off locations: http://www.gbdnw.com/recycling-home
And if you live in Seattle, there’s a really cool option lots of people don’t know about – you can recycle your used cooking oil by putting it out with your curbside recycling. Pour your cooled oil in a plastic jug with a screw-on lid, label the jug with your name and address, and set your cooking oil next to your recycling cart on your collection day in Seattle.
Stormwater Holiday from King County DNRP on Vimeo.