Grease disposal campaign shows impact of ‘fatbergs’ in sewers

Mayor warns against greasy sewer 'fatberg' Metro Vancouver is educating people on the dangers of dumping harmful cooking waste down the drain.

Metro Vancouver is educating people about the dangers of dumping harmful cooking waste down the drain.

Officials warn that hair, floss, grease and other waste products combine into repulsive mounds known as “fatbergs” that clog the sewers.

According to Metro Vancouver, it costs taxpayers $2 million each year to clean sewer lines from the effects of grease.

Vikram Vij, the owner and chef of My Shanti restaurant in South Surrey, is featured in a video campaign that aims to inform people about proper grease disposal.

“It really bothers me when I see people just taking that little bit of grease and they just dump it down the drain, and it’s like, ‘Why?’” Vij asks in the video.

He compared proper drain maintenance to other essential cooking utensils.

“If you need a great knife, if you need a great cutting board, you need that drain as well,” he said.

Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie is calling for people to change their habits immediately.

“You have to see the sewer pipes to see how a pipe that has a [large] diameter… can become just a very small pipe because of all this grease,” he said.

Instead of washing grease down the drain, people are urged to wipe small amounts of fat off their plates and put it in the compost.

Since 2012, a Metro Vancouver bylaw has required commercial kitchens to use grease traps that block fats from entering the sewer system.

Denis Sy, the general manager of Richmond’s Pepper Lunch, said he pays about $250 every three months to have the grease trap cleaned at his restaurant.

“They open it up, they suck everything out of the grease trap, then they would power wash it and clean,” he said.

Sy said he believes proper grease removal is a no-brainer.

“It is not very expensive to contract a company to do the pumping of your grease trap and dump it in the proper place,” he said. “It’s just the right way to do it.”

Commercial kitchens that don’t comply with regulations can be subject to re-inspection fees of up to $300 and restaurants without grease traps can be fined a minimum of $2,000.