CFPUA offers 15,000 free can lids to help ‘Cease the Grease’

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Holiday meals are typically full of decadent treats. And while many of those foods could take a toll on your physique, they can also take a toll on the sewer system.

That’s why the Cape Fear Public Utility Authority (CFPUA) wants to remind everyone to “cease the grease” both on Thanksgiving and through th e holiday season.  To help with that effort, CFPUA is giving away 15,000 more “Cease the Grease” lids over the coming weeks at its Customer Service offices at 235 Government Center Drive and 305 Chestnut Street in Wilmington.

CFPUA says pouring fats, oils and grease down the drain after you’re finished cooking is a common mistake. Many people believe the FOG will stay liquid as it moves through sewer pipes. Experts say what really happens is that the fats, oils and grease eventually cool and harden, blocking either a  customer’s pipes or pipes within the sewer system.

The hardening of fats, oils and grease is the number one cause of pipe blockages that result in sewer spills, CFPUA says. This latest batch of lids adds to the 30,000 already given away by CFPUA since 2014 as part of its “Cease the Grease” campaign. Just one use of a can lid keeps an average of 10 ounces of grease out of the sewer system. CFPUA says the reusable lids have kept at least 300,000 ounces of FOG out of its sewer system since 2014.

The lids fit a variety of cans. It allows customers to simply pour their fats, oils or grease into a can and seal it until it cools and hardens. Once the can fills up with FOG, customers can simply throw it away and keep the lid for the next can.