Grease trap and interceptor service log for a restaurant: the records your sewer utility asks for, and the kitchen habits that cut pump-outs
Fats, oils and grease (FOG, in sewer-utility language) poured or rinsed down a kitchen drain cool, harden and block pipes: first yours, then the city's. That's why most restaurants have a grease trap under a sink or a grease interceptor in the ground outside, and why the utility that runs your sewer may inspect it and ask for your pump-out records.
This post explains who sets which rule, then gives you an equipment sheet, a service log, a daily kitchen checklist and what to check when the hauler comes.
General information. The rules for grease traps and interceptors (size, pump-out frequency, records, who may clean them) are set mainly by your local sewer utility and plumbing code, and they differ from city to city. Food Code sections are from the FDA Food Code 2026. Ask your utility for its FOG program rules before you set your schedule.
Who sets which rule
Who | What they require | Source |
|---|---|---|
Health department (Food Code) | Drainage systems, "including grease traps," designed and installed to code, and a grease trap "located to be easily accessible for cleaning." The reason given: a trap that can't be cleaned "could result in the harborage of vermin and/or the failure of the sewage system." | Food Code §§5-402.10, 5-402.12; Annex 3 |
EPA (federal pretreatment program) | Prohibits discharging "solid or viscous pollutants in amounts which will cause obstruction to the flow" in the public sewer. Local programs use this, and their own authority, to control grease from food service. | |
Your sewer utility (FOG program) | Often: a grease control device of a set size, pump-outs on a schedule, records you keep and show on inspection, sometimes a permit, limits on oil and grease in your wastewater, and penalties. | EPA fact sheet, Controlling FOG Discharges from Food Service Establishments (EPA-833-F-12-003) |
Plumbing code (building department) | Where a grease trap or interceptor is required, its size and how it's installed. | Your local building department |
The EPA's fact sheet explains why utilities care: its report to Congress on sewer overflows found that "grease from restaurants, homes, and industrial sources are the most common cause (47%) of reported blockages." It says interceptors "must be designed and sized appropriately to allow FOG to cool and separate in a non-turbulent environment," and that food service establishments "must be diligent in having their interceptor/collector devices serviced at regular intervals." It also notes that pretreatment programs impose inspections, "periodic grease pumping," penalties and surcharges.
There's a safety reason too: OSHA's restaurant eTool lists "Un-emptied grease traps (possible grease fires)" among kitchen fire hazards (OSHA, Young Worker Safety in Restaurants: General).
Trap or interceptor?
- Grease trap (also called a hydromechanical grease interceptor): a small unit under a sink or in the floor, near the fixtures it serves. It fills fast and is usually cleaned often, sometimes by staff, if your utility allows it.
- Grease interceptor (gravity interceptor): a large tank, usually in the ground outside, pumped by a hauler.
Your utility decides which you need, and which fixtures connect to it. In an EPA webinar on FOG programs, the presenter listed a dish machine connected to a grease trap as one of the problems in a field case, because of its high temperatures, detergents and flow (EPA NPDES webinar, Fats, Oils, Grease, October 2023). Ask your plumber and utility what should and shouldn't drain to yours.
The equipment sheet
Fill this in once and keep it at the front of your log.
[Café / restaurant name] — Grease control equipment
Item | Details |
|---|---|
Type | [Under-sink grease trap / in-floor trap / outdoor interceptor] |
Size | [gallons, or flow rate (gpm) and grease capacity (lb)] |
Location and access | [Under the 3-compartment sink / in the parking lot, two lids] |
Fixtures connected | [3-compartment sink, prep sink, mop sink, floor drains] |
Sewer utility and FOG program contact | [utility, phone, email] |
Permit or account number | [number, if any] |
Required service frequency | [every [x] weeks / when FOG and solids reach [x]% / per permit] |
Records the utility requires | [manifests, logs, how long to keep them] |
Grease hauler | [company, phone, account] |
Used cooking oil (yellow grease) collector | [company, pickup schedule] |
The service log
One line per service, whether the hauler pumps it or your staff cleans a small trap.
[Café / restaurant name] — Grease trap / interceptor service log
Date | Serviced by (company / employee) | Manifest or receipt # | Gallons removed | Fully pumped and cleaned? | Baffles, tees, flow restrictor OK? | Problems found | Next service due | Manager initials |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Keep every manifest or receipt behind this page for [the period your utility requires].
Why the manifest matters: the EPA webinar's list of food service noncompliance categories includes "Inadequate pumping/cleaning of Grease Control Equipment (GCE)", "No records available" and "Improper disposal of Yellow Grease", and the same webinar warns about haulers who dump grease back into an interceptor instead of pumping it out. The manifest and a quick look are your proof.
When the hauler comes: five checks
- Someone from your team is there at least for the start and the end.
- It's pumped and cleaned the way your utility requires. Ask your utility whether a full pump-out is required, and write down what was done.
- The baffles, inlet and outlet tees and flow restrictor (on traps) are in place and undamaged. The EPA webinar lists missing components as a noncompliance category.
- You get a manifest or receipt with the date, the volume removed and the hauler's details.
- Lids are back on and sealed. Write it on the log the same day.
The daily kitchen checklist
The EPA fact sheet notes that how often a device needs service "depends greatly on the amount of FOG a facility generates as well as any best management practices (BMPs) that the establishment implements," and that an establishment using them may see "a reduction in their required grease interceptor and trap maintenance frequency." These are the habits that keep grease out of the drain:
Check | ✓ |
|---|---|
Plates, pans and pots scraped into the trash before they go in the sink or dish machine | |
Pans with grease wiped with a paper towel before washing | |
Fryer oil and other used oil only in the oil container, never down a drain | |
Strainers in place in every sink drain; floor drain covers in place | |
No grease, sauces or fat poured down a sink or floor drain | |
Spills of oil cleaned with absorbent, not hosed into a floor drain | |
Oil container lid closed, no spills around it |
Post it above the dish pit and the prep sink. Our fryer oil log covers the oil itself.
Signs it's due (or overdue)
Call your hauler before the scheduled date if you see:
- Sinks or floor drains draining slowly, or backing up.
- A strong grease or sewer smell near the trap, the sinks or the floor drains.
- Grease visible in the trap's outlet or in the sewer cleanout.
- Flies or pests around the trap or the lids.
Your grease trap checklist
- [ ] Utility's FOG program rules in hand: frequency, records, permit
- [ ] Equipment sheet filled in
- [ ] Service schedule set, and the next date on the calendar
- [ ] Every service on the log, with the manifest kept
- [ ] Daily kitchen checklist posted and followed
- [ ] Used cooking oil collected separately, never down a drain
- [ ] Trap easy to get to: nothing stacked on top or in front of it
Where Mays fits
- The hauler as a vendor. An admin can add the hauler under Inventory → Vendors as an On-demand vendor for your location, with the contact name and phone. See Vendors and vendor catalogs.
- The service log as a form. Build a Grease trap service form under Tasks → Types: a Vendor field for the hauler, a Date / time field set to Date only, a Number for gallons removed, a Text field for the manifest number, Yes / No fields for Fully pumped and Baffles and tees OK, and a Photo of the manifest. Every submission lands in Tasks → Data with Export CSV to send your utility. See Building custom forms and Task Data.
- The schedule as a checklist. Put the form on a Monthly or Quarterly template on the dates your schedule needs (for example the 1st, every three months), assigned to the manager. See Scheduling and assigning checklists.
- The daily habits. Add the kitchen checklist above to the closing template. See Creating a checklist template.
- Backups and problems. A slow drain or a backup goes in the Logbook under Maintenance, with Needs follow-up ticked. See The manager logbook.
What Mays doesn't do: Mays doesn't work out the next service date from the last one, and a schedule that isn't monthly or quarterly (every six weeks, say) can't be set as a frequency. Photos in a form aren't in Task Data or the CSV export, so keep the paper manifests too. Mays vendors are built for suppliers, so a service vendor has no order to place.
Grease belongs in the trap, and the trap gets pumped
Find out your utility's rules, pump on schedule, keep every manifest, and train the kitchen to scrape and wipe before anything goes in the sink. A trap that's maintained is a sewer bill and an inspection you don't have to think about.
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