City residents will have an opportunity to recycle their Thanksgiving holiday cooking oil and grease again this year. A recycling event will be held on Monday, Dec. 1 from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the City of Savannah President Street Wastewater Plant, 1400 East President Street.

Residents are asked to collect their used cooking oil and grease in sealed containers and turn it in at the event. If unable to attend, residents are urged to let used oil and grease cool and then discard in the garbage using a sealed container for liquid forms. Discarding fats, oils, and grease down the kitchen sink creates blockages of City sewer lines and homeowner pipes, which lead to sewage spills and raw sewage backing up into homes. An estimated 70 percent of all sewer blockages in the City of Savannah are caused by improperly discarded grease.

Blockages tend to increase during the holiday season when fried turkeys, hams, and other traditional foods are prepared. Fats, oil, and grease are the by-products from frying and cooking using vegetable oil, butter, margarine, lard, and shortening. They also include meat fats, food scraps, baking goods, gravy, sauces, mayonnaise, salad dressings, and even dairy products. These substances are the number one cause of sewage blockages in homes.

The President Street Wastewater Plant accepts used cooking oil and grease year-round.