Maybe you’ve cooked some ground beef for taco night or tried your hand at making homemade french fries; if so, then you know how much leftover grease is often produced. Now consider your favourite restaurant and the volume of food waste and grease-producing meals they cook every single day. Where does all of that excess grease and food waste go and what impacts can it have on both the environment and the restaurant’s bottom line? In this article, we’ll discuss. 

The Process 

While some grease can be stored and recycled (yellow grease), not all fats, oils, and grease (FOG) waste can be handled in this way. When a restaurant’s FOG waste goes down the drain, its first stop is the grease trap- a plumbing system that slows the flow of the wastewater and gives the FOG time to separate and rise to the surface, while allowing the water to drain below. The mass that is left is known as ‘brown grease.’ Over time, the grease trap fills up and a waste removal company will be hired to pump out the waste buildup and bring it to a treatment facility. This is an important process, because if not properly handled, the waste can lead to expensive plumbing blockages, environmental pollution, health hazards, and even fines.  

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle 

Both yellow and brown grease can be recycled. Before ever hitting the drain, yellow grease can be stored and then recycled into biodiesel. Biodiesel can run, without modification, in any diesel engine and it burns more efficiently and emits less pollutants than petroleum diesel.  

As for brown grease, the leftover material in a food service grease trap, there are a few ways it can be dealt with. The least productive- and most harmful- being a trip to the landfill. Fortunately, recycling leftover brown grease has become a more common practice. Sometimes, the waste is stored in deep pits where the water and grease can separate, allowing the FOG to solidify. It can then be mixed with other organic matter to be utilized in places like farm fields. Another popular method, still involving the separation of the brown grease from the wastewater, chemically treats it in a way that would produce a fuel called biogas, used mainly used for heating, electricity and mechanical power. 

So, what was once another wasted biproduct destined for the landfill, can now have a second life- one that can benefit your business too. 

Turning the Grease ‘Green’ 

There are multiple clear ways to lower the inherent costs associated with grease traps. Reducing the amount of waste going down the drain overall will then also reduce the frequency of servicing needed and therefore decrease the expenses of service fees. As well, proper regular maintenance of the grease trap will help to avoid costly repairs due to backup and overflow.  

However, as previously mentioned, another financially beneficial solution is to participate in available recycling programs. Many waste removal companies offer rebates for participating in these programs due to the shared benefits they can provide.  

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, “A life cycle analysis completed by Argonne National Laboratory found that emissions for 100% biodiesel (B100) are 74% lower than those from petroleum diesel.”  

While the available rebates can be an excellent profit recovery tool for businesses, the positive environmental impacts like methane emission reduction, waste diversion, resource recovery, and a reduced strain on sewage infrastructure are imperative as well. 

In conclusion, 

The benefits reign supreme when it comes to grease waste recycling. Businesses can reduce their environmental impact, attributable to their waste processes, while reaping the financial rewards too.