Today’s city council meeting has several important items on the agenda. None, however, is more important than the anticipated overturn of the garbage disposer ban. Last Tuesday a committee met to discuss the issue in great detail and concluded that the ban should be overturned.

The committee heard presentations by public works director Dale Crisp as well as Keven Keener, an Associate Professor of Food Science at Purdue University who used to teach at NCSU. Crisp’s presentation, according to reports, argued that city employees in the field have reported much fat accumulation in the city’s sewer lines, and the recommendation to ban disposers was not based on a scientific study. He presented a sealed jar with a sample of the accumulated blockage.

Dr. Keener reported his findings from a study involving 27 fat/oil/grease (FOG) blockages from 23 cities around the US, 17 from the southeast (including Raleigh). From the samples it appeared that 86% of the solid blockages were fats. Of these, 61%, a high concentration, were saturated fats like those found in vegetable oils (4%-49%) and animal fats (33%-48%). The other 14% of the solids were from silt and sand, and contained highly concentrated calcium, likely from water hardness and urine.

The calcification process is not currently fully understood, however it is hypothesized that fats and oils in the presence of cleaners and sanitizers (bleach), break down into free fatty acids, bind to the calcium ions, and form insoluble metallic soaps.

Because food particles (disposers grind food into 1-2mm diameter particles) did not seem to play a role in this process, there is no compelling evidence that disposers are a key parameter in FOG-related sewer accidents.

The public needs to be truly educated better about what goes into sewers. Cute cartoons on the side of an occasional sanitation truck don’t cut it. We need to be concentrating on the road while driving, not reading trucks. How many people actually read the insert with the water bill? Most bills are cluttered with junk that is immediately thrown away. No, the city needs an education campaign, most likely involving the 6 o’clock news hour. Printed materials are for the very careful, who can read, and can read English. Everyone needs to be reached with this campaign.

Some have suggested composting as a solution, however fats do not belong in the composting process. At this point, fats need to be sent to the landfill. My personal suggestion for this campaign is that bacon grease be a key target. One way to dispose of this widely encountered fat is to pour it into an empty can (vegetable or soup can) and keep it in the freezer. When it’s full, toss the solid block into the garbage the night before pickup.

Let’s hope the council will “do the right thing” and attack parameters that are proven to actually play a significant role in the problem. I commend the committee which unanimously approved the recommendation to end the disposer ban. The committee included City Councilors Koopman, West, Crowder, and Mayor Meeker (no, Isley was not involved). Admitting that one made a mistake is one of the toughest things to do, especially in public life, and these men deserve credit for doing so. Hopefully the entire City Council will continue this line of logic today and overturn this irrelevant ban once and for all.

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