Sewer spills are messy, bad for the environment, and can result in stiff financial penalties from state regulators. Greenville Utilities does everything it can to prevent sewer spills.   But we can’t do it alone. You play an important role in helping us maintain an efficient public sanitary sewer system.  

What causes sewer spills?   It’s simple. They’re caused by improper disposal of items into the sewer system.   The majority of GUC’s sewer spills are caused by grease. Grease is a byproduct of cooking and comes from meat fats, oils, shortening, butter, margarine, food scraps, sauces and dairy products. Help yourself, your neighbor and the environment and never pour grease down the drain. And remember that home garbage disposals do not protect your (or our), plumbing system from grease.

Here are some tips to reduce the potential of sewer overflows:

DO

• Collect cooking oil & grease in containers and dispose of it properly. Instead of putting oil & grease down the drain, collect them in a container and dispose in the trash.
• Remove oil and grease from kitchen utensils, equipment, and food preparation areas with scraper/towels/broom.
• Keep grease out of wash water.
• Place food scraps in a waste container for solid wastes.

DON'T

• Don’t pour oil or grease down the drain.
• Don’t wash fryers/griddles, pots/pans, and plates with water until oil and grease are removed
• Don’t use hot water to rinse grease off surfaces
• Unless you have a garbage disposal, please don’t use your drain to dispose of food scraps.  Place food scraps in waste containers or garbage bags for disposal.
• Don’t use the drain as a means to dispose of food scraps
• Please don’t use your toilets as a wastebasket.  Place a wastebasket in the bathroom to dispose of items such as disposable diapers and personal hygiene products.

For additional information on properly disposing of grease, visit NCDENR's Division of Pollution Prevention and Environmental Assistance:
http://www.p2pays.org/food/main/oil.htm and FOG Handbook