Baltimore: Don’t dump Thanksgiving grease down drains

BALTIMORE (AP) - Are you the sort of person who dumps greasy globs of congealed fat and oil down the drain when washing up?

If so, Baltimore’s public works department wants you to knock it off this Thanksgiving.

The agency is asking residents to refrain from pouring cooking fats, oils and grease “down the kitchen sink, toilet, or storm drain” following Thursday’s feast. People should instead pour it into a can and then place the cooled gunk into the trash. 

Last month, Baltimore officials battled a “fatberg” of congealed grease and other wastes plugging up a century-old sewer main. The blob was blamed for an overflow of 1.2 million gallons of sewage into a waterway.

In their pre-Thanksgiving message, Baltimore’s public works agency says dumping fats down drains is “where it starts.”