Athens Grease Festival includes program to repurpose used cooking oils
ATHENS-Athens Grease Festival goers will crave the fried Oreos, fried shrimp puppies and fried artichokes at Saturday’s event, but three local groups will covet the used cooking oil.
Keep Athens-Limestone Beautiful, the Athens-Limestone Recycling Center and City of Athens Wastewater Department joined forces to create the FOG Collection Program designed to keep fats, oils and grease out of the city’s wastewater system.
Pouring cooking fats and oils down the drain can cause nasty clogs. When the fats and oils cool off, they become thick and sticky which attracts food, hair and other particles that form the clogs. When the clog is on the homeowner’s side of the line, it can mean an expensive plumbing bill. When the clog is on the city or county side of the line, it still costs the homeowner money in the way of higher sewer bills because of line maintenance.
KALB Executive Coordinator Lynne Hart said the Athens Grease Festival on Saturday, June 
11, in downtown Athens is an ideal time to promote the program. At the festival, KALB and the Athens-Limestone Recycling Center will collect used cooking oils from vendors. Birmingham Hyde and Tallow will pick up the used cooking oils for use in new products.
The Spirit of Athens, a Main Street organization, hosts the festival to celebrate the Greek origin of the city’s name and as a celebration of all things fried. There are contests for Best Toga, a Frozen Turkey Toss, and other activities. Vendors offer a variety of fried foods, and organizers warn event goers to “eat responsibly the other 364 days of the year.”
Holly Hollman
“Not only do we want event goers to eat responsibly, we also want event goers to recycle responsibly,” said Holly Hollman, Athens Grease Festival Promotions Committee chairwoman.
Homeowners can get involved in the program at the festival or any time during the year. KALB and the Athens-Limestone Recycling Center will have a booth at the Athens Grease Festival to provide FOG containers and information about the program.
During the year, free containers are available at collection cages where homeowners can drop off full containers and pick up empty containers. Collection cages are available at:
KALB Office, 125 East Street
Athens-Limestone Recycling Center, 15896 Lucas Ferry Road
Athens Utilities, 1806 Wilkinson Street (off Elm Street)
“KALB and our Athens-Limestone Recycling Center are always happy to help organizers of outdoor events find ways to collect and recycle materials,” Hart said. “Each event is unique in what might be needed. We can arrange for cardboard, plastic bottle and aluminum can collection. At the Grease Festival, we are pleased to have an outlet for the grease that will be used to prepare all the amazing goodies that will be available.”
KALB’s booth will also have information about the upcoming Duck and Run and Wacky Quacky Ducky Derby, both fundraisers to support KALB programs.
