From NY1:The city Department of Environmental Protection has launched a campaign to educate the public about the nasty and costly problems that cooking grease could cause. NY1's Erin Clarke filed the following report.
Nothing says the holidays like fried turkey and latkes, but if you pour your leftover cooking grease down the drain or toilet, you may get a gift you're not thankful for.
"The grease problems will cause backages, backups in the sewers that will cause blockages. That can impact the way the sewer works," said Jim Roberts, deputy commissioner of the city Department of Environmental Protection. "In worst case conditions, it can sometimes lead to backups in homes."
That could mean that just when everyone's over to celebrate, you might end up with a stinky situation that will ultimately cost you and the city a pretty penny.
"We've spent several million dollars a year on what we call degreasing," Roberts said. "To give you some frame of reference, it costs about $20 a gallon for the degreasing agent that we use, and we use sometimes as much as 20 or 30 gallons."
In an effort to educate New Yorkers about the problem, the DEP launched an outreach pilot program. They are handing out information and tools for getting rid of grease properly.
"We have a little cap in here that they can attach to their coffee can or soda can and put the grease in and let it go out with the regular garbage," Roberts said.
The program is starting in Queens because the borough has the highest percentage of reported sewage backups caused by grease. The Briarwood neighborhood was particularly problematic.
5 comments:
Must be due to the Flagship Dimer on Queens Blvd.
The IHOP in Jamaica on Hillside Avenue according to MTA officials is a big culprit in this, which is the reason for the sewage smell at the F 169th Street subway station. This smell has been going on for several months and when I approached a MTA official in regards to this smell, they told me that IHOP is putting grease down the pipes and causing back-ups. Community Board 8 has now referred this issue to DEP.
So not only is grease the cause for obesity in Queens, it is also the cause for backed up pipes, because people do not have common sense when disposing of grease. But then they don't have common sense when disposing of garbage either.
I once caught a Chinese take out restaurant pouring their grease down a corner catch basin. I reported it to my council, community board, and DEP.
They now have their grease picked up by a contractor.
And that is NYC law.
When you just got here from a place that barely has indoor plumbing, its hard to know the right way to
behave!
It doesn't even make sense. Companies will actually pay restaurants for their waste oil and make biodiesel out of it.
http://yourwasteourfuel.com/
And if you don't lock it up, people will actually steal it.
http://queenscrap.blogspot.com/2010/09/queens-men-accused-of-grease-theft.html
Post a Comment