There are 17 locations in Jefferson County where you can pick up these plastic containers, fill them with your cooking grease, and return them for recycling. Source: Alan CollinsJEFFERSON COUNTY, AL (WBRC) -
It's the eve of Thanksgiving and a lot of turkeys are being cooked. A word or warning from Jefferson County officials: don't dump your cooking oil.
Instead, Jefferson County Manager Tony Petelos urged everyone in the county to recycle their cooking oil. Jefferson County has established 17 locations to pick up plastic jugs to put the oil in and then return the cooking grease for recycling.
Dumping the oil becomes a major threat to the environment when the grease makes its way into the county's water system. Jefferson County continues to fight to keep grease out of the sewers, which has proven to be a costly clean-up operation for the county's environmental services department.
"The absolutely worst thing to do is pour it down the sink. The number one problem we have in sewage treatment is clogged pipes because grease is in the pipes. The best thing you can do is recycle it," Petelos said.
The recycling program is run by the county's Environmental Services Department and the Storm Water Program. After collecting the oil, the county will turn it over to recyclers. If you want to see a list of those locations, click here.
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