Grease Trap Services
FAST, CLEAN, ON-TIME SERVICE
Grease Trap Cleaning Services
Grease traps are no place to cut corners, especially when you’re choosing a service provider. Improper grease trap cleaning, pumping, and maintenance can create huge problems for your business, potentially causing closure or heavy fines due to blockages, overflows, or environmental damage.
All commercial kitchens face regulations that dictate how grease is handled and for good reason. Left unchecked, fats, oils, and grease (FOG) that enter sewage systems can plug drain lines, block pipes, and eventually clog the region’s sewers or cause other serious issues. Grease traps protect waterways by significantly reducing the amount of FOG that enters water treatment systems, and they are required by law. EcoZero’s professional grease trap services keep your traps in peak condition so you can focus on your business without worrying about regulatory problems.
Why Do Grease Traps Need Maintenance?
Failing to properly maintain your grease trap can cause major issues. Here’s a list of problems you might encounter:
- PLUGGED DRAIN LINES, AND BLOCKES PIPES : Over time, solidified grease within a pipe can create blockages that cause a lot of problems, from kitchen back-ups to burst pipes and environmental pollution.
- FOUL STENCH : Rancid FOG gives off unpleasant fumes that could be harmful to anyone near the source – including you, your employees, or your customers.
- CLOGGED SEWERS : Grease build-up in sewers causes them to overflow, potentially damaging homes, businesses, and the environment. Removing grease from sewers costs Metro Vancouver residents at least $2 million every year.
- PENALTIES : Violating grease disposal regulations can lead to fines, which create a heavy financial burden in addition to damaging your reputation.
How It Works
We offer a preliminary visit on-site to service the contaminated grease trap and ask questions to determine the pumping schedule that will fit your needs. Our grease trap technicians are trained to responsibly and efficiently service your traps and remove all materials in a legal and environment-friendly way. We retain complete service records which are always available to you. In the case of an audit by regulatory authorities, you will have immediate access to all service records at the touch of a button. If your location is having its traps routinely maintained by us according to our recommended schedule, you can feel confident that your grease traps are in compliance with all applicable regulations.
Our service offers peace of mind.
- We help your business stay in compliance with all regulations and bylaws.
- We maintain complete records of our service to your grease trap.
- We counsel you on proper grease trap maintenance to prevent problems.
- Our grease trap services are provided without disrupting your business.
- Much of the material we remove is repurposed – first extracted for cooking oil then used in anaerobic digestion for biogas generation.
- Material that cannot be repurposed is safely disposed of at licensed facilities according to local regulations.
Why EcoZero
Working with EcoZero helps ensure you remain in compliance with local regulations. Non-compliance with grease regulations can result in costly fines and serious penalties. We work hard to make sure this doesn’t happen to you. We’ll set you up on a cleaning schedule that meets city requirements and even handle the paperwork so you don’t have to.
Choose EcoZero
EcoZero’s grease trap services are available all across Metro Vancouver. We’ll keep your equipment clean and make sure you stay up to code with bylaws. We also offer Used Cooking Oil Recycling, so you can rely on a single vendor for all your grease management needs. Submit a Service Request or give us a call to learn more.
Grease Traps 101 - FAQs
Grease is commonly used to describe Fats, Oils, and Grease (FOG). FOG is found in common food and food ingredients such as dairy products, meat, fish, butter, cooking oil, mayonnaise, dressings, gravies, sauces, nuts, coffee beans, and food scraps.
A grease trap sometimes referred to as a grease interceptor, is a plumbing device designed to separate fats, oils, and grease from wastewater and stops it from entering the sewer system. There are two primary types of grease traps. Interior traps are usually located in the kitchen area near the sink or dishwasher and tend to hold smaller amounts of FOG. Exterior traps are located outside the building, underground. Exterior traps are much larger, holding thousands of liters. All commercial kitchens whose wastewater contains fat, oils, and grease are required by law to have a properly installed and maintained grease trap.
As water from your sink passes through your grease trap, FOG will accumulate and make it more difficult for water to drain. This causes the trap to fill up. By having your trap regularly cleaned, you prevent it from overflowing and avoid expensive plumbing bills. Regularly cleaning your trap also reduces odors, which can be off-putting to your customers.
When you sign up for EcoZero grease trap service, our team will inspect your traps to determine cleaning frequency. Cleaning frequency will vary depending on the size of your trap and the amount of grease used in your kitchen. Metro Vancouver requires: Grease traps to be fully pumped out by a waste management company like EcoZero:
- When fats, oils, grease, and solids (combined together) are more than 25% of the total liquid depth OR
- Every 90 days (whichever occurs first), and sometimes as frequently as 30 days, and
- All components inspected that may affect its proper operation
Wastewater leaving the grease interceptor should not exceed the regulation limits of:
- 300 mg/L of oil and grease
- 600 mg/L of solids
Please also remember:
- Don't use enzymes or other agents that will allow grease to pass through the grease interceptor and go into the sewer
- Have someone on site who can open the grease interceptor for cleaning
More information about Metro Vancouver’s grease trap regulations:
When our service technician arrives to clean your traps:
- They’ll first open the trap and take a picture. This is to document what the trap looked like when they arrived.
- They’ll take another picture once your service is complete, so you can be sure that everything was done properly.
- After documenting its pre-service condition, the technician will begin to pump out your trap, making sure to scrape the sides to remove any accumulated FOG.
- They’ll also measure the contents to determine whether you meet your regulatory requirements.
- If you don’t, they’ll make a note to follow up with you to reassess your cleaning frequency.
Once your trap has been completely pumped out:
- The technician will take a picture and complete a report noting the details of your maintenance activities.
- You’ll receive a copy of this report shortly after your service.
- If city inspectors require a copy of your report, we can submit it for you and we will keep it on hand for 2 years.