Grease quickly turns solid within sewer pipes, and can cause blockages that lead to backups and sewer overflows. Cooking grease and oil are a common source of contamination that gets improperly washed down the drain.

Store your cooking fats and grease in a disposable container such as a tin can and let it cool before throwing it out with other garbage. Wipe the remaining fats, oils and grease (FOG) from your pots and pans with a paper towel and throw it in your household waste. Hot water and soap does not remove these substances from the walls of sewer pipes. Sewer pipes in the ground are cold so any liquid grease in the wastewater solidifies on the walls of the pipe. Eventually, it can build up enough to cause blockages in your own service line.

When you flush your toilet, flushed materials leave your home through pipes that connect to the City's wastewater system. Materials like fats, oils and grease that are flushed down the drain can harm or block the pipes in the system.

Avoid a costly, messy and time-consuming cleanup. Don't drain or flush fats, oil or grease.

Related Links

Grease Interceptors Brochure - English Version (pdf)
Protecting Red Deer's Water Brochure (pdf)
Protect the Pipes (pdf)
Utility Bylaw 3606/2018 (pdf)
Inspections and Licensing