You may not see many TV commercials for Correctional facility grease trap cleaner, however the worsening FOG problem in the US is taking over various establishments and facilities in every state. FOG is an acronym which means fats, oils, and grease. As technology develops, more and more FOG is being produced and spilled out into the wastewater treatment system. In every state, food manufacturers and food service establishments line citied pepper the countryside. Some may be upfront with it like restaurants, hotels, cafeterias, diners, and resorts. Others just include a large kitchen in their premises to complete the services they provide. Such institutions or establishments are hospitals, airports, and correctional facilities. If it has to do with handling food, then there has to be a grease trap installed within its kitchen premises.
The most commonly used type of grease trap or grease interceptor is the passive type. This depends on gravity so it doesn’t need electricity to run. This is an economical means because electric bills don’t escalate when this type of grease trap is employed. But even if it is inexpensive to operate, there still has to be a regular maintenance schedule for it. The frequency of the clean up depends on the size of the grease trap and how it’s used. Ideally, correctional facility grease traps are pumped out every 6 to 8 weeks. Even if they do adhere to this set schedule, they still must pay up to 30,000 USD in fines when and if FOG and sewage overflows. This makes it desirable to be meticulous, fanatical, even overzealous in regards to grease trap pump-outs.
It’s a huge issue to tackle and would definitely take more effort to resolve. As you know, there are thousands of inmates and staff in correctional facilities that have to be served with regular meals. With this, the kitchens in correctional facilities have difficulty in monitoring the FOG levels in their grease interceptors. It seems that pumping out and cleaning the grease traps every 6 to 8 weeks is not enough to prevent these overflows from ruining the health and safety of the people and the environment. Whenever there are FOG and wastewater overflows, the sewer lines get heavily clogged up.
This creates an untreated wastewater backup into the correctional facility and onto the grounds. Eventually, the raw sewage reaches the surrounding water systems such as the rivers, lakes, ponds, and streams. Living organisms that thrive in these aquatic environments eventually die because of chemical contamination and oxygen depletion. Water supply systems are also contaminated and this makes it a health hazard for everyone. Pathogens and harmful chemicals are ingested by surrounding residents and this is a very detrimental and fatal scenario.
The FOG crisis is crying out for an immediate solution. The passive grease trap is no longer enough to isolate the FOG from the wastewater. Manual scraping of grease and solid food particles ought to be done thoroughly before washing the dishes, utensils, and equipments reach the wash area. This will make sure that the grease trap will only handle insignificant amounts of FOG and solid wastes. Filter installation in wash areas is also ideal so that the solid wastes and FOG will be separated from the grey water coming from the wash drains.
The Plumbing & Drainage Institute highly recommends the use of non-pathogenic or friendly bacteria in cleaning up and maintaining grease traps in correctional facilities; this is called bioremediation. Bacteria usage is the most effective and the most efficient way of eliminating all the solid wastes and FOG that the correctional facility kitchens produce. Bacteria remove the foul smells and do not leave chemical discharges to pollute the environment. There are powdered bacteria that are often used because they’re easy to store and ship. The bacteria pumps are activated to give good bacteria with time intervals. Bacteria blocks are bacteria compressed into blocks and tied to the grease trap and are just left to dissolve. Liquid bacteria can be poured into drains in order for them to reach the grease traps.
The best correctional facility grease tap cleaners are bacteria. They are Mother Nature’s most effective assistants in taking good care of the environment.
