In this article we will discuss school grease removal. The educational
system in the United States have has its ups and downs. Even so, the standards
have been kept high especially in honing the academic and non-academic skills
of the students all over the country. In order to bring out the best in the
students, every imaginable facility is provided in various departments such as
athletics, culinary arts, performance arts, debates, and mathematics, just to
name a few. But being in school all day needs energy. To provide a constant flow
of energy, the students need to eat. What facility in school is the most
familiar source of sustenance? The cafeteria, of course.
The school cafeteria
is an institution in itself. Many generations of students in every school have
grown up eating comforting food that settle their physical hunger. Whether it’s
big meals or snacks, cafeterias provide easy and familiar food that everyone
loves to eat. Just recently, there was a health revolution started in some parts of the
US wherein the food served in school cafeterias are changed into much healthier
ones. For years, the students have taken in synthetic food and drinks that they
believe are delicious and nutritious just because everyone has been eating and
drinking them for years.
FOG (fats, oils,
grease) are in massive amounts in school cafeterias. This is basically because
of the main ingredients found in what they have always prepared—oils, salts,
and sugars. What are the usual food items served in school cafeterias?
- French fries
- Potato wedges
- Mac and cheese
- Burgers
- Spaghetti
- Chicken nuggets
- Flavored milk
- Buttered corn and
peas - Jello
- Fried chicken
- Pudding
- Cakes
- Donuts
- Soda
As everyone has
experienced, these are what the students eat every single day at the school
cafeteria. When the school is large, there are more students. If there are more
students, the cafeteria is even bigger because there are lots to seat and feed.
More and more schools are being established these days and this strengthens the
fact that the schools are major contributors to the FOG (fats, oils, grease)
problem in the country. FOG overflow means that the FOG spills into the
untreated effluent that flows through sewer lines towards the wastewater
treatment facility. When the Fog mixes with the effluent, it hardens and sticks
to the inner walls of the pipes. As more FOG enters the sewer pipes, more
blockage is formed. Eventually, the effluent just backs up into the school
because it couldn’t flow normally towards the wastewater treatment facility
anymore.
School grease
removal has to be performed if a sanitary and healthy school system is to be
enjoyed for years to come. This is a very challenging task to do especially in
a school cafeteria. But extra effort should be done for the desired outcome.
The FOG crisis can be stopped significantly if the schools all work together in
properly disposing of the grease that they produce. They could manually scrape
off the grease and food from the dishes and equipment that they use. These
would then be placed in leak-proof vessels that could be disposed of with the
rest of the trash. Strainers or fine meshes could then be fitted into their
drains to prevent the bits of food and grease from entering the grease trap.
Using bacteria based
additives to clean the grease trap on a regular basis is also a significant
change that has to be made. With bacteria, FOG and solid wastes are digested
and converted into much harmless forms. Chemicals and enzymes just emulsify the
FOG and make it easier to combine with the untreated effluent. Bacteria are
living organisms that voraciously eat FOG and solid materials. They even
eliminate the disarming odors that come from accumulated gunk in the grease
trap. Once school grease removal is successful, there will be no environmental
lawsuits to file. The administration will even save a lot from pumping the
grease trap too much when bacteria are always there to keep FOG levels at a low
minimum.
