Grease Trap Pumping

Food service establishments (FSE) will be required to maintain grease traps and interceptors in good working order. This requires having a contract with a licensed septic and/or grease hauler company. Because it is a food service industry, many FSE managers will request pump-outs to be during non-business hours (very early morning or late evening) due to various reasons, such as the truck taking up patron parking spaces and mainly the odor that is present when opening and pumping a grease trap.

Over the past several years, there have been cases of pump trucks discharging loads of sewage/grease into FSE grease traps and directly into the city/town sewers to avoid dumping costs. This is a criminal violation in the state of Massachusetts. Also, in some cases, the hauler will not fully pump the grease trap but charge a full pump-out fee.

The Taunton Police are aware of this nationwide issue and have been trained in the identification of this kind of activity. On the right is a video released by the Town of Cary, North Carolina Department of Public Works and the Town of Cary Police Department in identifying illegal discharges from septic haulers.

There are a few ways that you can better protect your business from being a victim of these crimes. You can schedule pumping at a time where a member of the food establishment staff is present to observe the pumping or you can install a sensor in your grease trap. There are many types of sensors on the market today, but they all do the same basic function of giving you real-time data on the liquid levels in your grease trap. This will not only allow you to identify if a hauler was dumping into your grease trap, but it will also show if a hauler pumped your grease trap fully. You can also better manage your pumping schedule with a sensor because it will alert you when you need to pump. And in some cases, you may be able to decrease your pumping schedule based on your grease level data, saving you money.