FREE, fat-trapping can lids 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
Wilmington, NC (November 17, 2016): 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 continues to give away “Cease the Grease” lids 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 more than 40,000 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 400,000 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 47 percent and the volume coming from those spills by 78 percent over the same time period.
“Sometimes the simplest ideas can make the greatest difference,” said Jim Flechtner, CFPUA Executive Director. “Filling up a can with grease from a holiday meal helps keep pipes clear and our environment cleaner.”
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