When it comes to disposal...

Drains, toilets and trash cans are not all the same. Disposing of trash down drains and toilets can lead to sewer overflows and back-ups that can cause harm to human health and our local environment.

In the kitchen | In the bathroom

In the kitchen

• grease & produce stickers = trash
• food = garbage disposal or compost

Grease sticks to household and sewage pipes. Over time, grease build-up will block the entire pipe and result in raw sewage backing up into your home or overflowing into the street or waterway. Follow these four simple steps to keep things running smoothly.

• Don't put produce stickers down the drain.
• Don't put grease, fats, or oil of any type down your drain or garbage disposal.
• Do use baskets or strainers in sink drains to catch food scraps and other solids and empty them into the trash or compost them.
• Do scrape grease and food scraps from cooking surfaces into a container and put in the trash can, or compost them.

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In the bathroom

Think trash not toilets. Flushing the wrong thing down the toilet damages your household plumbing, your environment and the wastewater treatment system. If it isn’t biodegradable, put it in the trash instead of the toilet.

These items belong in the trash can. View as .PDF file (641 KB).

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More Information

How to Get Rid of Stuff You Don't Want or Need--recommended methods for disposing of residential and household waste.

Things You Can Do to Protect Your Environment--links to information about things you can do to protect your home and family, the wastewater treatment process, and water quality.

Eliminating Fats, Oils and Grease (FOG) from our Sewers--lists common household sources of grease, potential results of a grease-blocked sewer pipe, and what you can do to keep fats, oils and greases out of the sewer.

Bert the Salmon's Tips for Saving Water--things you can do to conserve water inside and outside your home.

King County Sound Tips--King County-sponsored events and opportunities, and some "Sound Tips" to help everyone make a difference.

A brochure of this web page is available as a .PDF file (641KB).

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For questions about the Wastewater Treatment Division Web site, please send an e-mail message. For general information about the division, contact us at:

Department of Natural Resources and Parks
Wastewater Treatment Division
201 S. Jackson St., Suite 505
Seattle, WA 98104-3855
Phone: 206-684-1280
Fax: 206-684-1741
Telecommunication device for the deaf (TTY): 711

Updated: May 7, 2008
 

Related Information:
King County Solid Waste Division

Local Hazardous Waste Management Program for King County

Public Health - Seattle and King County