CFPUA Reminds Everyone to "Cease the Grease" This Thanksgiving, Holiday Season
15,000 more FREE, fat-trapping can lids now available to customers;
Collecting and disposing of fats, oils and grease (FOG) has never been easier
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Mike McGill
(910) 332-6704
(910) 622-8472 (After hours)
mike.mcgill@cfpua.org
communications@cfpua.org
Wilmington, NC (November 17, 2015): With Thanksgiving fast approaching, Cape Fear Public Utility Authority (CFPUA) wants to remind everyone to “cease the grease” both this Turkey Day and throughout the rest of the holiday season. To help with that effort, CFPUA is giving away 15,000 more “Cease the Grease” lids over the coming weeks at our Customer Service offices, located at 235 Government Center Drive and 305 Chestnut Street in Wilmington.
Pouring fats, oils and grease (FOG, for short) down the drain after we’re finished cooking is a common mistake. Many people believe the FOG will stay liquid as it moves through our sewer pipes. What really happens is that the fats, oils and grease eventually cool and harden, blocking either our customers’ pipes or pipes within CFPUA’s sewer system.
The hardening of fats, oils, and grease is the number one cause of pipe blockages that result in sewer spills. This latest batch of lids adds to the 30,000 already given away by CFPUA since 2014 as part of our “Cease the Grease” campaign. Just one use of a can lid keeps an average of 10 ounces of grease out of our system. If you count just one use for each lid - they are reusable - the free lids have kept at least 300,000 ounces of FOG out of our sewer system since 2014.
Shown in the attached photo, the lid is a simple one and is designed to fit a variety of cans – vegetable, tuna fish, dog food, soup, you name it. It allows customers to simply pour their fats, oils or grease into a can and seal it until it cools and hardens. Once the can fills up with FOG, customers can simply throw it away and keep the lid for the next can.
The lid program is just one of the impactful programs developed and managed by CFPUA’s Community Compliance division. The division is also responsible for working with restaurants in CFPUA’s service area to ensure they are doing their part to keep fats, oils, and grease out of our sewer system. When compared to the last five years before CFPUA was formed, we have cut down the number of sewer spills by 52 percent and the volume coming from those spills by 77 percent over the same time period.
“The “Cease the Grease” lid campaign is another example of how a simple idea can make a big difference,” said Jim Flechtner, CFPUA Executive Director. “Together with our customers, we have been able to positively impact our environment by working to keep spill-causing grease out of our pipes.”
For more information about CFPUA’s FOG program and its other efforts to keep our sewer system safe and reliable, please contact CFPUA’s Community Compliance division at 332-6558 or contact Mike McGill, Chief Communications Officer, at 332-6704.
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Cape Fear Public Utility Authority (CFPUA) was formed by the City of Wilmington and New Hanover County to combine their water and sewer operations. It began operations on July 1, 2008. Today, the Authority serves more than 67,000 water customer accounts and more than 65,000 wastewater customer accounts. It oversees more than 1,000 miles of water distribution mains and nearly 1,000 miles of sewer mains. For more information, visit www.cfpua.org or contact CFPUA's Communications staff at communications@cfpua.org.