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King Street Center
201 S. Jackson St., Suite 500
Seattle, WA 98104-3855
Phone: 206-684-1280
Fax: 206-684-1741
Telecommunication device for the deaf (TTY): 711

Get Directions to our office location in Seattle, Washington.

Staff Contacts
Puget Sound shoreline next to the West Point Treatment Plant, Seattle

Eliminating fats, oils and grease from our sewers

Just as grease clogs your arteries, it clogs the local sewer district's and County's arteries--the sewer system.

Don't pour grease down the sink!

 Grease down the drain leads to... Grease in sewer

Grease going down the drain can cause serious problems in our sewers.

A better disposal option is now available - Turn this waste product into biodiesel!

Instead of disposing of fats, oils, and grease down the drain, drop off kitchen grease at:

Pour grease into a container, let cool, and throw in the trash.

 Or better yet, recycle it!

General Biodiesel, Inc. (external link)
6333 1st Ave. S, Seattle

Collecting your grease in a container and dropping it off at General Biodiesel is the best thing to do.

If you can't drop it off, dispose of it in the trash can.

Additional drop-off locations:

  • Drop-off locations available during the holiday season are listed here (external link).
  • Permanent drop-off locations include:
    • Pacific Rendering Co. Inc.
      4034 West Marginal Way SW
      Seattle, WA 98106
      >> Tank (black) located at fence entrance of parking lot
    • Mercer Island Presbyterian Church
      3605 84th Avenue SE
      Mercer Island, WA 98040
      >> Tank (black) located at northern end of parking lot  

Where does grease come from?

Greasy bacon in a fry panFats, oils and greases are a byproduct of cooking. They are found in such things as:

  • Meat fats
  • cooking oil
  • Lard and shortening
  • butter and margarine

When grease is washed down the drain, it sticks to the inside of sewer pipes (both on your property and in the streets.) Over time, it builds up and can block an entire pipe.

Garbage disposals do not keep grease out of the pipes, they only shred it into smaller pieces. Commercial additives, including detergents that claim to dissolve grease, may pass it down the line and cause problems away from the source.

The results of a grease-blocked sewer pipe can be:

  • Sewage overflows in your home or your neighbor's home
  • Expensive and unpleasant cleanup that often must be paid for by the property owner. The average cleanup cost is about $3,000 which does not include replacing carpets and repairing walls.
  • Possible contact with disease-causing organisms
  • An increase in operation and maintenance costs by the local sewer district and King County's regional treatment system, which causes higher sewer bills for customers.

Thanks for doing your part to keep fats, oils and greases out of the sewer

The links at the right have more information and disposal tips.

News releases

"One of the best ways people can keep fats and grease out of the sewer is to keep it out of their drains. Not only does it help prevent sewer system overflows, it can help people avoid their own costly plumbing problems."

-- Christie True, Director, Department of Natural Resources and Parks

Additional information available on the Web

External links