Grease & Waste Disposal
Disposal
Residential customers can help prevent sewer spills and overflows by properly disposing of fats, oild, and grease (FOG) within their households. Rather than pour grease down the drain, potentially clogging and damaging home plumbing and MWA sewer lines, let grease cool and pour it into a sealed container for disposal in the trash.
The MWA has a limited supply of grease can covers to make this disposal of potentially harmful household grease easier for residential customers. To receive a free, reusable grease can cover, ask for one at the customer service counter of the MWA headquarters on Second Street.
Below are some educational brochures on proper grease disposal in various languages and a link to the Georgia Sustainability website with more information on the proper disposal of grease and other household items.
Waste Disposal – Will it Flush?
Blockages in the sewer mains lead to spills, overflows, and backups into residences. Items that cause blockage include:
- Rags
- Disinfecting cleaning cloths
- “Flushable” wipes
- Other non-dispersible items (items that may flush, but will not break up or dissolve)
These types of items should never be flushed down the toilets, but should be thrown into the trash. Even though manufacturers proclaim that their products are flushable (wet wipes, especially), they do not break down in the flushing process like regular toilet paper.
Sewage from your home or businesses must travel many miles to the nearest treatment plant. The longer the wipes must travel in the sewer main, the higher the probability that they will cause blockages in those sewer mains, resulting in sewage spills, overflows, and possibly sewage back-ups into homes.
The link below is a video commissioned by the Water Environment Federation (WEF) that shows residents what items should or should not be flushed down the toilet. This valuable information could save homeowners, business owners, and the MWA millions in repairs and rehabilitation of private laterals and the MWA’s public sewer infrastructure.
Will It Flush? – Video from Water Environment Federation (WEF)