Better known as a much-desired vacation spot, Hawaii has its share of grease problems. But on the island of Maui, the county is pleased with the compliance of new regulations that require all commercial kitchens to install grease interceptors, or traps.
As of early January, only 45 of the 537 licensed restaurants and commercial kitchens had failed to submit any plans to install grease traps. Of the rest, 291 are confirmed to have finished installation; 120 have had plans approved and are awaiting inspectors to confirm the grease traps were properly installed; and 81 have plans pending review.
“We wanted everyone to be in compliance, but I think we’re relatively pleased that over half are done, and we expect another 200 will be done at some point this year,” Gilbert Coloma-Agaran, county public works director, is quoted in an article in The Maui News.
Although the deadline for commercial kitchens to install grease interceptors - which keep solidified fats from clogging county sewer lines - was December 31, 2003, the county won’t cite a restaurant until an inspector personally confirms that the grease trap has not been installed. County officials hoped to have all inspections completed by February. Violators face an initial $500 fine that could go up by $100 a day.
Many restaurant owners were upset over the trouble and expense of installation, with some smaller restaurants saying the cost could drive them out of business. Installation costs for one small café was $27,000 and about “six figures” for the Maui Marriott resort. It is not known how many, if any, restaurants have closed because of the expenses of the new regulation.
The size of the grease trap required in each restaurant was based on the county’s plumbing code and on guidelines the Environmental Protection Agency asked the county to implement. It was calculated on the number of plates served and the type of food prepared.
County Solid Waste Director John Harder said efforts to divert fats, oils, and grease out of the sewer system and landfills and into recycling programs have already had a big impact. An earlier phase of the program required all new restaurants to install grease traps.
Harder estimated that last year, Pacific Biodiesel, a biodiesel producer in Maui, collected about 5,000 tons of grease trap waste and 500 or 600 tons of cooking oil, creating more than 300,000 gallons of biodiesel.
Maui County was ordered by the state Department of Health to deal with the grease disposal problem after a series of sewage spills that were caused by accumulated grease in main sewage transmission lines.
February 2004 Render