As we enter the holiday season, the CBJ Utility would like to remind our community about the perils of improper disposal of Fats, Oils and Grease (FOG) and how easy it is to manage this waste correctly.  FOG comes from meat fats in food scraps, cooking oil, shortening, lard, butter and margarine, gravy, and food products such as mayonnaise, salad dressings, and sour cream – all of the traditional ingredients of our cherished holiday feasts.

FOG poured down kitchen drains accumulates inside sewer pipes. As the FOG builds up, it restricts the flow in the pipe and can cause untreated wastewater to back up into homes and businesses, resulting in high costs for cleanup and restoration.

FOG also causes malfunctions of septic and wastewater treatment systems, ranging in size from a single home septic system all the way up to the size of CBJ’s three main treatment plants.  So, keeping FOG out of the sewer system helps everyone in the community.

And everyone can take some simple steps at home to prevent FOG from entering our sewers:

• Never pour fats, oils or grease into drains or flush down toilets.
• When cooking, pour any fats, oils or grease into an empty jar. These materials solidify when cooled. Once the jar is full, secure the lid and put it in the trash.
• Do not pour grease into your garbage disposal. Put any food scraps and disposable utensils in the trash.

The CBJ Utility thanks you for your help in keeping our community and our freshwater and marine environments clean and FOG free.  And we wish everyone a safe and joyous holiday season!