Posted on: Monday, December 20, 2004

By Jan TenBruggencate
Advertiser Staff Writer

This is a time of year when a lot of household kitchens produce a lot of greasy stuff. The fat may be from the drippings of holiday birds and roasts and the oils used to cook particular dishes, including that oil-intensive favorite, deep-fried turkey.

The short version of this story:

Don't pour grease down the drain; soak it up with paper towels or something else and drop it in the trash instead.

The longer version:

Fats, oils and greases — known to waste handlers by the acronym FOG — may pour in liquid form, but as these substances cool in waste pipes and sewer lines, they solidify and clog the lines. They end up being a significant cause of backed-up sewer lines, which can result in nasty sewage spills.

"Grease is our No. 1 pollutant of concern," said Ken Kawahara, acting regulatory control branch head in the City & County of Honolulu's Department of Environmental Quality. Across the country, fat, oil and grease are the cause of most sewer backups.

The experts recommend that folks in their kitchens wipe the stuff up or pour the grease into paper napkins or crumpled newspapers.

Do you know someone who shreds documents? The shredded office paper in a plastic bag can be a great soaker-upper of oil. Is there a woodworker or carpenter nearby? Sawdust soaks up liquefied fat quite well, too.

If you have a lot of oil, one of those automotive oil change boxes is a good receptacle.

Officials don't want you to simply put liquid FOG in a coffee can or a cardboard milk container, because these containers can leak when the trash is being handled, and the oil can pour out into the refuse truck and onto the street. That presents a different kind of hazard.

You can throw the oil-soaked material into the trash, and on O'ahu, it will end up as fuel in the H-POWER plant, which produces electricity.

Another option if you have a lot of oil is to bring it to companies that process it to make something useful.

Pacific Biodiesel on Sand Island will make it into motor fuel. Call them at 841-2177. They also have a Maui office.

Island Commodities at Campbell Industrial Park will convert cooking oil into animal feed or boiler fuel. Call them at 682-5844.

Folks at both places said you can bring the used oil to them in the same container in which you bought it.

If you have a question or concern about Hawai'i's environment, drop a note to Jan TenBruggencate at P.O. Box 524, Lihu'e, HI 96766, e-mail jant@honoluluadvertiser.com or call (808) 245-3074.