Grease Trap Enzymes & Additives: Illegal Here, and Here’s Why

The law, first

Parish code Sec. 2:272(8): “the use of emulsifiers, chemicals, or other agents or devices that may cause oil, grease, or sand to pass through a treatment facility or into the sanitary sewer collection system is strictly prohibited.” That covers enzyme dosers, bacterial “digesters” sold as pump-out reducers, solvent treatments, and the hot-water-flush trick (anything over 140°F is named in the same section).

Why the ban exists — the physics the sales pitch skips

A grease trap works by giving grease time to separate and float. Emulsifiers and enzyme products don’t destroy grease — they break it into droplets small enough to stay suspended and flow through the trap. Your trap looks cleaner because the grease left… into the sewer line, where it re-congeals in your lateral, your strip-center’s shared line, or the city main. You haven’t reduced pumping; you’ve relocated the grease to somewhere a pump-out can’t reach — and under Sec. 2:272(6), if the parish clears that shared line, the businesses on it get the bill.

What actually reduces pumping cost

• Dry-wipe cookware before the sink — the cheapest FOG reduction there is
• Strainers on every FOG-line drain, emptied to trash
• An interval matched to your real volume — calculate it — so you’re never paying emergency rates
• Full evacuations, not skims, so solids never compact into a bigger job