How the grease actually moves
A truck fries all day, then dumps gray water and washes down at the commissary. Everything that went into the fryer and the pans ends up in the commissary’s trap — from a kitchen the commissary does not control, at a volume it did not size for. Five trucks sharing one 100-gallon trap can fill it in a week.
The rule and the contract
Richmond’s discharge standard (100 ppm FOG, Sec. 28-907) attaches to the building’s sewer connection. For a commissary, that means the operator is answerable for grease that trucks bring in. The sensible arrangement puts three things in the commissary agreement: how often the trap is serviced, who pays, and that trucks scrape and dry-wipe before washing. A commissary that does this has a maintenance history to show the city; one that does not is relying on the city never sampling.
For truck operators
- Ask your commissary when the trap was last fully evacuated — and ask to see the receipt with gallons removed
- Dump used fryer oil into the collection bin, never the sink; one fryer dump is a month of normal grease
- If the commissary’s trap backs up, your washdown is the first thing that stops — so it is your problem too
For commissary operators
Run the calculator on the total covers all trucks produce, not on the commissary’s own kitchen. Put the interval in the lease. Keep the one folder. We will service on a schedule that reflects the real load and give you the paperwork the city can ask for at any time.