“Sewage with…fats? No, thank you!”

With the slogan “Sewage with… fats? No, thank you! We change habits, we keep the drainage clean”, EYATH starts the implementation of an extensive program to protect its sewage network from edible fats and oils, with recipients mainly the mass catering businesses of the Municipality of Thessaloniki, after Easter.

The aim of the program is threefold: 1. to inform catering businesses about the problems arising from the uncontrolled discharge of fats, oils and food residues into the network and sewage facilities, 2. to train them on the best practices for managing their liquid waste and , finally, 3. to comply with their legal obligations arising from the Special Sewerage Regulation of EYATH (EKA).

According to research carried out by EYATH in the past, many catering businesses, precisely because of the disposal of fats and food residues, face serious incidents of internal blockages in their network. At the same time, EYATH faces blockages in the central sewerage network and in its facilities (sewerage pumping stations and sewage treatment facilities, where all discharges are directed), spending large sums for the maintenance and operation of its infrastructure, many working hours and high energy costs.

In the framework of the program under the central slogan “Sewage with… fats? No, thank you!”, which is being implemented for the first time in Greece, specially trained staff of EYATH will thoroughly show catering business owners that, if they invest in prevention by installing properly sized grease trapping equipment and if they adopt the appropriate practices in the kitchen, then they will also be legal (by receiving from EYATH the special sewer permit they must have) and they will be freed from the repeated costs of clogging and restoring their internal network. Similarly, EYATH will be freed from high maintenance costs, with the water receiver of our treated discharges, Thermaikos, ultimately benefiting greatly.

“Our program for ‘grease-free drainage’ is beneficial for both the catering businesses and for EYATH, but mainly for our aquatic environment and public health. We are next to the businessmen of Thessaloniki, to explain to them, to guide them, to help them choose the appropriate equipment, so that they can also fulfill their legal obligation by obtaining the special sewage permit and benefit financially by investing in prevention”, pointed out the managing director of EYATH, Anthimos Amanatidis. In fact, as he added, “through the EKA, businesses that comply are also given a discount on the previous year’s sewerage fees”.

The Special Sewerage Regulation (EKA) of EYATH S.A. approved in September 2021 (Government Gazette 425B/15.09.2021). The EKA defines the conditions that must be met by the entity carrying out any type of economic activity during which liquid waste is produced, in order for it to be disposed in the sewage network of EYATH or to be transported directly to the company’s sewage treatment facilities. Businesses must install appropriate equipment, so that the numbers of the physicochemical parameters of their liquid waste that end up in the EYATH network do not exceed the maximum allowed. As long as they meet this obligation, they also receive the required special drainage permit from EYATH.

The sewage pumping station of EYATH in Nea Paralia.