Managing Your Kitchen Waste Effectively In Winters

While the busiest time for the food service businesses is from April to September, there is still enough work to go around in the winter. As long as your kitchen runs, it will keep generating used cooking oil, and other solid waste. Besides, even during this season, there are some peak days when you serve a lot of clients. Therefore, you need to know how to manage the waste effectively during the cold months, with the tips shared in this short guide.

1. Regular grease trap cleaning goes on, as usual

You might take chances with other types of kitchen waste during the winter, but never take a relaxed stance when it comes to handling the fats, oils, and greases (FOG).

At room temperature, or at summer temperatures, the FOG stays in semi-liquid state, making it easier to pump out. However, with the temperatures dropping, the FOG starts to congeal and unchecked, they can form one formidable solid mass.

While the hot water from the sink faucets and the dishwasher will keep things flowing nicely, well, when it gets to the grease interceptor, it is going to cool down. The FOG will collect at the top, while the water will flow to the sewerage system.

If the winter temperature is really low and the FOG freeze, they will solidify and increase in size. We know that water expands when it freezes. Therefore, your grease trap needs even more regular and frequent checking during the winter.

Here are some tips to care for your FOG tank in the cold season:

Install a backup indoor grease trap, if you can

This means spending some money, but it will be worth it. If it is indoors, the grease will not be too bothersome since you will keep your indoor air at the right temperature.

However, installing an indoor grease trap is only possible for small restaurants. For the big ones, you will have to ensure regular maintenance of the outdoor grease tank.

Keep the water running

Keep the water running through the sink and the pipes, to the grease trap. That way, the pipes are not going to freeze because if they do, they can sustain damage. As long as the kitchen is running, there will always be water going in the sink.

Do not dump oil in the sink

You should never pour cooking oil in the sink, irrespective of the season. While oil maintains its liquid form at room temperature, it will solidify when it is frozen. If it freezes while it is inside the pipes, it can cause serious clogging and pipe damage problems.

Insist on getting a used oil bin swap

When you pour the used vegetable waste oil in the bin provided by the used oil recycling service, it will freeze. Therefore, emptying the oil into the collection tanker when it comes around will be hard. To avoid this, get empty bins while the company carries the full ones.

Do not postpone grease trap cleaning sessions

If there is a time when the grease interceptor needs more frequent and closeup checks, it is during the winter. The ground above the waste pipes will be freezing, and the water and grease inside the tank will freeze into a solid mass.

To prevent this from happening, make sure that three months do not pass before the trap is inspected, even if business dips.

2.  Keep the solid waste indoors, in tightly lidded bins

It is essential to protect the solid waste from your kitchen from moisture, because it makes it soggy and hard to manage. Therefore, put the waste in bins, and cover them tightly. You can also keep the trash bins indoors until collection time.

Make sure the waste does not freeze in the bin, because that could cause the release of noxious gases. Usually, this happens with chemical waste, and you know white vinegar, and other cleaning agents contain chemicals. Such could find their way into the trash bin. Just keep the bins tightly covered to prevent the escape of any smells from the waste.

Before adding the waste into the bin, you need to sort it as required. Mostly, recycling companies can give you differently colored bins, to use them with different types of waste, including organic waste. Keep the waste dry to prevent it from getting soggy, as recycling companies do not accept such.

3. Reduce the waste if possible: reuse cooking oil

Try to reduce the waste that you generate, and this applies to homeowners, as well as restaurant owners.

One of the ways to do this is to reuse whatever you can. For instance, keep cooking with used fryer oil, as long as it is safe to do so. However, if the oil starts to turn brown, stop using it, and pour it into the vegetable waste oil bin for recycling.

It is also okay to reuse fats too, but remember that with oils and fats, the smoke point gets lower, making the oil riskier.

4. Buy just what is needed

In the winter, you do not need a pantry full of food that you might never cook. Food service businesses experience a dip in business during the winter, and if you order excess supplies, some might go to waste.

If you have food that has a close sell-by date, you should consider give it away instead of waiting to throw it away.

Any cooked food that remains should be packed in plastic bags, and should be tossed into the trash bin, which should be tightly lidded to keep air and moisture out.

It is also important that the garbage is collected on time, so that the organic waste does not start to rot. If you store your waste bins in a shaded area, keep them out of the way so that they do not cause public nuisance.

Conclusion and recommendation

The one thing that you have to be very careful with during the winter is the fats, oils, grease, and the grease interceptor.

The grease trap is installed outside, where it is exposed to all weather elements. Therefore, you have to pay special attention to it, and we can help you with this, as you take care of your business.

Nothing short of a blizzard will stop our team from making the scheduled grease tank cleaning session. If you would like to install a small grease trap indoors, or install another one outside in a covered area, call us on 855-519-5550 for free consultation, and planning. You can also get in touch with us through our contact us page.

Do not let used vegetable oil stay in your way, putting your kitchen employees in danger. We will handle that for you, right on schedule, and we shall empty and clean the FOG tank.