Don’t throw grease down the drain, as it may damage your pipes.

Brunswick County, NC (WWAY)– “Don’t be a grease goblin”, said John Nichols, the Utilities director of Brunswick County. He isn’t talking about little green monsters; Nichols is warning people about throwing nasty grease into the drain. Across the United States, Thanksgiving can generate 200 million gallons of fats, oils, and grease. That’s almost three quarters the volume of the Empire State Building.

Nichols, whose team sent out flyers all over Brunswick County, says all that stuff is not good.

“We want to make sure our plumbing, and our sewer lines don’t get clogged up with grease. They’re a problem for everybody”, said Nichols.

Most people won’t think twice when pouring grease down the drain, as it is in a liquid state. Brent Milliron, the director of AQUA North Carolina, breaks down how it can back up your drain.

“Once the fats, oils, grease cool down, it hardens like a rock. I try to tell customers; your pipe starts to shrink more and more, and as that grease hardens it eventually could cause a blockage.  It could cause sever backup to not only your home, but to the community”, said Milliron.

It is also more than cooking oil; it could also be things like cheese and butter which could be detrimental to your home. The day after Thanksgiving is the busiest day of the year for plumbers like Tommy Holseuh, who might need to bring out heavy equipment.

“If need be, we will have to bring out drain machines, augers, or snakes to try to eradicate the grease. Eventually get that pipe flowing how it should be”, said Holseuh.

One way to get rid of grease is pouring it into aluminum foil and throwing it into the trash, but Lizzie Horvits, who is a sustainability expert, has a better method.

“The best thing you can do is actually compost a small amount of grease. You can compost about up to one cup, and so if you already have a compost system at your home, that is the best thing to do”, said Horvitz,