In this article we will discuss School grease trap control and pump
outs. A
school is classified as a controlled environment. Here, the students and staff
are in a place where rules and regulations have to be followed. It’s where the
youth practices living in the real world by having a student government and
having groups to belong to. They work hard to have good grades in return. The
control is led by the principal or director of the school. Everything should be
according to what he says in agreement with the rest of the administration. The
control is easier when there is constant supervision and correction within the
school premises. If every situation is controlled, there will be no staff or
student that’s violated, offended, or even harmed in every single school day.
Control in school is
needed is good, resilient students should be produced. The real world is
governed by competition and harshness. The ones who will graduate from academic
institutions should not only have the knowledge but also the right attitude and
skills to survive. When there is control in school, students learn how to
follow. And if they follow, they could lead someday.
Within the physical
walls of the school, control is also evident. There is control of water flow,
electricity, and temperature. Control is also evident in the school canteen in
terms of meal production. The kitchen staff may produce large batches of food
but they should see to it that there will be no substantial amount of wasted
meals. The canteen is the main source of FOG (fats, oils, grease) in the school
premises. This is because food is made up of animal and vegetable fat. With
this, schools are considered major causes of FOG overflow in the US. As a
response to the need of resolve for the FOG crisis, the grease ordinance was
created. The schools are mandated to follow the ordinance by installing grease
traps and making sure that they are well-maintained.
School grease trap
control should be done with the help of the canteen department and the student
body itself. Every mealtime, there will be food prepared and leftovers thrown
away. With the initiative of the canteen, there should be leak-proof bins in
the meal areas. The students and employees will place their leftovers in these
bins. Once full, the bins will be sealed and disposed of properly. Scraping away
the grease from food trays and kitchen equipment is a big endeavor in school
grease trap control. This and the effort of putting food strainers and meshes
in the drains of wash sinks will keep the FOG and solid wastes away from the
grease trap, keeping the grease at very low levels. If the FOG level is very
low, there will be no FOG overflows at all.
FOG overflow is the
main cause of wastewater backup in the US. If grease traps are not
well-maintained, the Fog will mix into the effluent and solidify within the
pipes. The sewer lines will eventually get clogged because of too much FOG that
has hardened and adhered onto the inner pipe walls. The untreated effluent
never reaches the wastewater treatment facility. Instead, it goes back to the
school facilities and contaminated the entire area.
The efforts in
school grease trap control could be further strengthened by using bacteria in cleaning
the grease trap. Bacteria are living organisms that voraciously consume FOG and
solid wastes. They do not emulsify the FOG like chemicals and enzymes. If the
FOG is merely emulsified, it mixes easily with the untreated effluent and
enters the pipe lines as fast as the effluent could flow.
The processes of
bioremediation and bio-augmentation both use bacteria in getting rid of FOG in
grease traps. Bioremediation uses non-pathogenic bacteria while bio-augmentation
uses a specific strain. Bacteria remove any trace of foul smells in the grease
trap as well. With bacteria, school grease trap control will be a much easier
task to do. It’s even more practical considering the hard economic times that
the country is dealing with.
