The Antelope Valley Times

Your community. Your issues. Your news.

Palmdale reminds residents to keep Thanksgiving FOG free

by •

PALMDALE –The city of Palmdale is reminding residents to keep FOG —fats, oils and grease— out of household sinks and drains this Thanksgiving.

“One way to ruin a holiday celebration is with a sewer overflow in the neighborhood, due to FOG — fats, oils and grease — that have been dumped down kitchen sinks,” said Palmdale’s Director of Public Works Chuck Heffernan.

“Around the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, we have seen sewer blockages due to the buildup of fats, oils and grease from cooking oils, salad dressings, sandwich spreads, meat drippings/juices/fat, and other similar products used to prepare delicious holiday meals,” Heffernan said. “The problem arises when they are dumped down the sink. They should never go there.”

The City recommends the following when handling FOG materials:

  • Never pour fats, oils and grease down the sink or garbage disposal.
  • After they have cooled, pour fats, oils and grease into a sturdy container, such as an empty glass jar or coffee can. Once the container is full, close the lid securely and place it in the trash.
  • Prior to washing, scrape and dry wipe pots, pans and dishes with paper towels and dispose of those materials in the trash.
  • Use sink strainers to catch bits of food and empty the strainer into the trash.
  • To recycle large amounts of leftover oil from deep-frying a turkey, call AVECC at 1-888-CLEAN LA (1-888-449-7587).
  • For businesses or households with larger volumes of FOG, call 267-5272 for recycling options.

“It’s very popular to deep fry a turkey for a Thanksgiving meal, but sometimes people don’t properly dispose of the used oil,” said Heffernan. “Used cooking oil should never go down the sink. The best place to dispose of it is to take it to the Antelope Valley Environmental Collection Center (AVECC) on the first and third Saturday of every month.”

“All of us play an important role in preventing neighborhood sewer blockages,” Heffernan said.” By helping to prevent sewer blockages, you are protecting your home, saving your money and helping the environment.”

For more information about Palmdale’s FOG prevention program, call 661-267-5300.

[Information via news release from the city of Palmdale.]

–

4 comments for "Palmdale reminds residents to keep Thanksgiving FOG free"

  2. Now these ignorant Democrats want to tell you how to cook at home
    You politicians need to stop telling people what you do this is United States not Russia or Cuba

    • They aren’t telling you how and what to cook.
      They are warning you not to dump oil and fat down the drain cause it clogs up the works.
      Kinda common sense cause doing so will F up your home plumbing as well.

    • Do whatever you want…as long as you aren’t hooked up to the public sewer system that we all rely on. If you are and you plug it up with your freedumbs be prepared to crawl in and fix it, dirtbag.