From Restaurant Grease to Renewable Fuel: OGMGT’s Green Grease Initiative
Restaurants generate a significant amount of grease every day. Fryers produce used cooking oil, grease interceptors collect fats, oils and grease from wastewater, and commercial kitchens depend on responsible disposal to keep their operations running smoothly.
But that grease does not necessarily have to be treated as waste.
At Oil & Grease Management, we are working to give these materials a second life through our Green Grease Initiative— an effort focused on recovering usable grease streams and directing them toward beneficial reuse as fuel feedstock.
For our restaurant partners, the goal is simple: properly manage kitchen grease while supporting a more sustainable system for what happens to it after collection.
What Is the Green Grease Initiative?
OGMGT collects grease from two primary sources throughout the restaurant industry.
The first is used cooking oil, or UCO. This is the fryer oil restaurants remove after it has reached the end of its useful cooking life.
The second is grease recovered during grease trap and grease interceptor service.
Rather than viewing these materials strictly as waste, our process focuses on collecting, separating and managing recoverable grease so it can ultimately be used as feedstock in fuel production and other beneficial-use applications.
That creates an opportunity to turn something that would otherwise be discarded into a valuable resource.
Used Cooking Oil Has Value After the Fryer
Used cooking oil is one of the most recognizable recyclable materials produced by commercial kitchens.
When properly collected and processed, UCO can be used as a feedstock for renewable fuels and other products.
OGMGT provides participating restaurants with used cooking oil collection containers and services those containers on a scheduled or as-needed basis.
This gives restaurant operators a clean and organized way to dispose of fryer oil while allowing that material to move into a productive recycling stream.
Depending on the account and market conditions, qualifying customers may also participate in our used cooking oil rebate program.
Recovering Grease From Grease Trap Waste
Grease traps and interceptors perform an important job inside a restaurant’s plumbing system.
They separate fats, oils and grease from wastewater before those materials can enter downstream sewer infrastructure.
During routine pumping, however, grease trap contents contain more than just recoverable grease. The material may include water, food solids, sediment and other organic material.
Proper processing allows portions of the grease to be separated from the larger waste stream.
OGMGT’s goal is to maximize the amount of recoverable material that can be directed toward beneficial reuse rather than simply treating everything removed from an interceptor as waste.
That is a major part of what the Green Grease Initiative represents.
Sustainability That Starts in the Kitchen
Sustainability programs can sometimes feel disconnected from the daily realities of running a restaurant.
Grease management is different.
Restaurants already need to dispose of used cooking oil. They already need grease traps pumped. They already need to prevent grease from entering their plumbing and sewer systems.
By working with a grease-management company that focuses on recovery and beneficial reuse, restaurants can make their normal maintenance program part of a larger sustainability effort.
No complicated change to kitchen operations is required.
It starts with properly separating used cooking oil, maintaining grease interceptors and ensuring the material is handled responsibly after collection.
Proper Grease Management Also Protects Local Infrastructure
Environmental responsibility does not stop with recycling.
Keeping fats, oils and grease out of drain lines and sanitary sewer systems is equally important.
Grease that enters plumbing can cool, accumulate and restrict the inside diameter of piping. Over time, that buildup can contribute to slow drains, backups and sanitary sewer problems.
A complete grease-management program therefore has two sides:
responsibly recovering grease after collection and preventing grease from entering places where it does not belong.
That is why OGMGT combines services including grease trap pumping, used cooking oil collection, preventative line jetting, drain cleaning and commercial restaurant plumbing.
A Better Life Cycle for Restaurant Grease
Our long-term vision is straightforward.
We want to help create a more complete life cycle for the grease generated by restaurants throughout Charleston and the surrounding communities.
Cooking oil begins in the fryer.
Grease interceptors protect the plumbing system.
OGMGT collects and processes those grease streams. Recoverable material can then move toward fuel feedstock and beneficial reuse. It transforms grease management from a simple disposal service into part of a circular system.
Partner With OGMGT
Oil & Grease Management works with restaurants, commercial kitchens and food-service facilities throughout Charleston and surrounding areas.
Whether your operation needs used cooking oil collection, grease trap pumping, preventative drain maintenance or a complete grease-management program, our team can build a service schedule around your facility.
Our Green Grease Initiative represents where we believe the industry should be headed: better grease management, greater resource recovery and a cleaner approach to commercial kitchen waste.
Contact Oil & Grease Management to learn more about our used cooking oil collection, grease trap maintenance and Green Grease Initiative.