| Help Prevent Ocean Pollution:
A Guide for Food Service Facilities
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Pollution Prevention
 A clean ocean and healthy creeks, rivers, bays
and beaches are important to Orange County. However, allowing debris
from your business to enter the gutter and storm drains can lead to
water pollution. Storm drains carry rainwater from our streets, and
should never contain wash water, trash, grease or other materials.
Unlike substances that enter the sanitary sewers (from sinks and toilets),
substances that enter the storm drains do not receive treatment before
entering our waterways. In addition, blocked sewer lines can cause
raw sewage to back up into kitchens, bathrooms, city streets, storm
drains, and our waterways.
This brochure will explain steps your food
establishment can take to help preserve water quality by keeping
debris out of storm drains and by preventing fats, oils, and grease
from blocking
sewer lines.
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Cleaning Spills and Equipment
- Never hose a spill into a gutter, street
or storm drain!
- Before
mopping a wet kitchen spill, absorb it with towels, cat litter or other
absorbent materials.
- Sweep up dry spills immediately and dispose
of the material in the trash.
- Scrape grease and food waste from floor mats
and filters before cleaning. Dispose of scrapings in trash.
- After
scraping, clean floor mats, filters, and garbage cans in a mop, sink
or a designated, curbed area connected to the sanitary sewer. Consider
using a cleaning service for these activities.
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Dumpster/Grease Bin Area Cleaning
- Keep the area around the dumpster clear
of trash and other debris. Do not overfill the dumpster.
- Cover dumpsters
to block insects, animals, rainwater and wind.
- Sweep or vacuum
up trash and
throw it away.
- Absorb wet spills with cat litter, towels
or similar materials. Discard in the trash.
- Do
not rinse your dumpster area!
Doing so can
cause grease and
trash to enter the
storm drains.
- Have leaky
dumpsters
replaced.
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Prevent Fats, Oils, and Grease from Blocking the Sewers
Fats, oils, and grease (FOG) can cause sewer line blockages
which can make sewage overflow into your facility and into storm drains that
lead to the ocean. To stop the substances from building up in sewer lines,
prevent them from entering your drains. |
Photo Courtesy of the Monterey Regional Water Pollution Control Agency. |
Practices in the Kitchen
- Collect waste cooking oil and grease in portable containers
with lids. Transfer into drums or barrels for recycling.
- Do not pour oil
or grease down any drain. Recycle or use absorbent materials and dispose of waste in the trash.
- Dry-wipe
pots, pans, dishware, and work areas to remove all visible grease before
washing. Dispose of waste in the trash.
- Use drain screens to capture
food waste and dispose of properly into the trash.
- Train employees about
proper grease disposal and post “NO GREASE” signs
near all sinks or drains.
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Maintenance of Grease Traps and Interceptors
- Reduce solids going to the grease trap or interceptor.
- Inspect and clean grease traps frequently to ensure proper operation.
- Have a licensed company inspect and pump out grease interceptors regularly
to ensure proper operation.
- Keep maintenance records on-site for reference and regulatory review.
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For more information, call the
Orange County Stormwater Program
at
(714) 567-6363 or visit www.ocwatersheds.com.
Report sewage spills and discharges
that are not contained to your site
to the
Orange County 24-Hour Water
Pollution Reporting Hotline at
(714) 567-6363.
For emergencies call 911.
Illustrations courtesy of the City of Los Angeles.
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