The City of Torrington and the Torrington Area Health District have received a grant from the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection to develop a program to reduce the volume of fats, oils and grease (FOG) discharged to sewage system. When implemented, this program is intended to reduce the costs associated with maintaining the municipal collection system, and reduce the possibility of sewage overflows from the collection system.

Food Preparation Facilities are being encouraged to review their methods of  FOG disposal and make changes as needed to protect the environment, meet health standards and comply with the Torrington Area Health District’s FOG Pretreatment Program when implemented.

Grease discarded by Food Preparation Facilities can often be converted to tallow and reused to make a variety of products. Grease that can be reused includes: fryolator grease; grease from drip pans on exhaust hoods; and grease removed from griddles. Because this grease can be easily separated from other waste and has a beneficial use, it should not be poured into a sink or discarded in the trash. A list of Renderers who can recycle waste oil is provided below.

When choosing a Renderer items that should be considered are:

• What types of waste grease are accepted?
• Who provides containers for the grease?
• How often will the grease be picked up?
• What size are the grease storage containers and is adequate and appropriate storage space for the containers available.
• What is the charge for accepting the grease?
• Are there restrictions on cleaners that can used or mixed with the grease?

Efforts should be made to minimize the fat, oil and grease that enters the sewage collection system from pots, pans and plates by scraping solids into the trash. Oil and grease that is not discarded in the trash or easily separated for rendering, may be separated from the wash water discharged from the pot sinks by outdoor or automatic-indoor grease traps.

Suppliers of outdoor and automatic-indoor grease traps are provided below. 
Please note that passive-indoor traps will not comply with the Torrington Area Health Department’s Grease Pretreatment Program when implemented.

Outdoor-in-ground grease traps will be required to have a minimum capacity of 1,000 gallons or a retention time of 24-hours at the average daily flow. Outdoor traps require regular inspection and removal of grease by properly trained and licensed septage haulers. Records of grease trap inspection and grease removal should be maintained in a log book including the date of inspection or grease removal, name of company providing the service, and volume of material removed. Installation of outdoor grease traps is provided by licensed septic tank installers.

When sufficient space is not available for proper installation of an outdoor-in-ground grease trap, an automatic-indoor grease trap may be used. Automatic-indoor grease traps must be sized by a manufacturer’s representative for the site where they are to be installed. Two manufacturers of automatic-indoor units are currently approved for the Torrington area. Automatic-indoor units require daily removal of grease and cleaning of the screenings basket. As with the outdoor units, a logbook must be kept of all maintenance on the grease trap, who provided the maintenance and the date and time of the maintenance. Automatic-indoor grease traps can be maintained by food preparation facility employees.

Facilities with dedicated maintenance crews may wish to have appropriate tools for opening manholes. Manhole cover hooks are at  plumbing supply shops. Maintenance training, regarding the inspection check list / required log and safety precautions taken, must be provided by the establishment owners / managers. It is highly recommended that the required inspections be conducted by a trained maintenance employee.

The Torrington Water Pollution Control Authority is currently considering a policy to allow food preparation areas that clean their own indoor grease traps to bring grease removed from the traps to the grease collection facility located at the treatment plant. This policy will set minimum volumes that will be accepted, fees for accepting the grease and hours of collection. Other restrictions may be included as a condition for accepting this grease.