Fats, Oils & Grease

Bag the Grease

When hot fats - oil, butter, sauces and grease - go down the drain, they then cool and become solid. Those solids can create obstructions and reduce the flow of water going through the drain/sewer pipe. This may cause sewage back-ups into your home, neighbor's home, or in the sewer lines that flow to our wastewater treatment plant. Avoid all these problems by throwing cooled greases into the trash and bag it before putting the garbage in your container and/or dumpster.

Proactive Measures

Las Cruces Utilities takes a proactive approach to pollution prevention, focusing on proper grease disposal and decreased sewer maintenance costs. Restaurants, food manufacturers, hospitals, and other facilities are required to install, use, and maintain a grease interceptor. Interceptors must be cleaned at least every 90-days to ensure proper function. Pollution Prevention Inspectors assess food service establishments to ensure they perform Best Management Practices to reduce grease in collection system pipes.

Proper Practice

Households that use grease or oils when cooking can help by scraping food from your dishes into the trash to minimize garbage disposal usage. Using a paper towel to remove grease and oil from your cookware will also reduce the grease buildup in the lines. Following these easy steps helps keep our pipes clean and flowing.