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For questions about the Wastewater Treatment Division Web site, please send an e-mail message or contact us at:

King Street Center
201 S. Jackson St., Suite 505
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 buildup in a 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)
4034 West Marginal Way SW, Seattle

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

In the near future, General Biodiesel, Inc. hopes to develop partnerships for additional drop off locations. Stay tuned!
  • Drop off is from 8:00 am to 3:30 pm. Call 206-932-1600 the day before to make sure someone is there to accept your donation.
  • If you can't drop it off, dispose of it in the trash can.

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, Wastewater Treatment Division

Additional information available on the Web

External links