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Questions or Comments: TexasEnviroHelp@tceq.texas.gov

Reducing Fats, Oils, and Grease in Your Community

Information about how to reduce fats, oil, and grease in your community's sewer system.

Fats, oils, and grease (FOG) can cause serious damage to your community’s sewer system. Every year communities spend billions unclogging or repairing pipes.

FOG often clings to materials, such as wipes that have been flushed or roots that have infiltrated the pipes, building up to create a large blockage.

As FOG clogs pipes, the bits of rotting food trapped in the FOG form hydrogen sulfide. The hydrogen sulfide combines with water to form sulfuric acid, which eats the pipes.

The clogs caused by FOG can also cause sanitary sewer overflows, which expose people to raw sewage—a serious health hazard—and are expensive to clean up.

TCEQ developed the poster below, available in English and Spanish, to offer tips to your community.

Camera-ready art is also available, so that you can customize the poster with your establishment’s name. Call (800) 447-2827, or send an e-mail (TexasEnviroHelp@tceq.texas.gov) to order camera-ready art.

For more information on the TCEQ's Sanitary Sewer Overflow Initiative, visit the Sanitary Sewer Overflow Initiative website.

Small Business and Local Government Assistance

TCEQ's Small Business and Local Government Assistance section offers free, confidential help to small businesses and local governments working to follow state environmental regulations. Call us at (800) 447-2827 or visit our webpage at TexasEnviroHelp.org.