Pollution Prevention
Clean water is the Earth’s most precious resource, and our job at the Metropolitan Wastewater Management Commission (MWMC) is to clean millions of gallons of water every day. We manage many factors to do our job effectively, and our communities can assist us. Properly disposing of pollutants is one of the easiest ways you can help us protect the Willamette River as a water resource.
Fats, Oils, & Grease (FOG)
Fats, oils, and grease, or “F.O.G.” in the water industry, are everyday pollutants from household cooking, cars, restaurants, and industries. While FOG can serve valuable functions in the natural world, it creates numerous problems for the wastewater system. To help prevent clogs and blockages in your pipes, you can fill out the request form below to receive a free FOG kit!
Fats, oils, and grease naturally separate from water and clump together. This can lead to buildup in drains, pipes, and pumps that can clog the flow of wastewater. Blockages of pipes and breakages of pumps are serious maintenance issues. If they’re not dealt with swiftly, they can lead to backups and overflows of wastewater into streets and neighborhoods.
FOG usually comes from food waste and enters the wastewater system when washed down a sink drain. It can also come from restaurants, automobile repair shops, and industrial sources. Pretreatment staff in Springfield and Eugene monitor businesses to ensure FOG is separated from wastewater and disposed of properly.
FOG should be collected from dishes before washing them. Hardened grease can be scraped off, and oil can be poured into a container. Collected FOG can then be thrown away or composted.
If you want an easy way to collect and properly dispose of FOG, you can message us to receive a free FOG kit!
Wipes
Wipes are a persistent problem for wastewater systems worldwide. They can create clogs, break pumps, and lead to unsafe wastewater backups, even those marketed as “flushable”.
Wipes do not dissolve in water the same way toilet paper does. Their woven structures make it easy for them to get caught in pipes and cause clogs. They also frequently get caught in wastewater pumps and can break them, leading to backups for entire neighborhoods. Even wipes labeled as “flushable” really aren’t, and they cause the same issues.
The only things that should go down your toilet are the Three P’s: pee, poop, and toilet paper!
Wipes should be placed in the trash, not the toilet. That includes the ones that are labeled as “flushable”.
Medications
Medications and pharmaceuticals can play essential roles in our health, but they are unhealthy for the water system. Fortunately, Oregon has many resources to help safely dispose of medications to prevent them from entering our water.
Medications can contain thousands of chemical compounds, often difficult to break down. Medications help improve our health when used as prescribed, but they can come with side effects. Trace amounts of pharmaceuticals in our water systems can build up over time, eventually leading to potential negative effects for plants, animals, or people who need the water. Because these chemicals are so complex and there are so many different types, it’s often impossible for wastewater treatment processes to remove those trace amounts entering the water system from our cities.
Trace amounts of the chemicals in medications can naturally pass through our bodies into the wastewater system when we use the bathroom. More significant amounts can enter the water system if medications are washed down a sink or flushed down a toilet.
Throwing unused prescriptions in the trash also can pollute the Willamette River. Lane County’s trash goes to Short Mountain Landfill to decompose. As they break down and rain washes over the site, pharmaceuticals concentrate in the water and soil.
In Oregon, pharmacies provide locations where unneeded medications can be safely disposed of.
- Find the nearest drop-off location: medtakebackoregon.org
Twice a year, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) also works with local law enforcement agencies to provide free prescription drug disposal. Drug Take Back Day happens every April and October.
- Find a Drug Take Back location: dea.gov/takebackday
PFAS
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a family of human-made chemicals used to make products that resist heat, oil, stains, grease, and water. Some commonly used products that can contain PFAS are waterproof clothing, stainproof carpets, cosmetics, non-stick cookware, and food packaging. Because these chemicals have been used widely for decades, they have seeped into our soil, air, and water.
PFAS chemicals don’t easily break down in the human body or the environment and are thus referred to as “forever chemicals.” The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry states that the potential health effects of PFAS may include increased liver enzymes, increased cholesterol levels, decreased vaccine response in youth, increased blood pressure levels or pre-eclampsia in pregnant women, lower infant birth weights, and higher risks for kidney and testicular cancers. Much remains unclear about PFAS’ impacts on human health, and researchers are actively working to learn more. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has labeled PFAS a high priority for chemical safety and pollution control actions.
PFAS can enter the water system through stormwater runoff, food waste, dishwashing, and industrial processes. In Eugene and Springfield, PFAS primarily enters the wastewater system from residential sources. As a result, we have a relatively low amount of PFAS in our wastewater, but we are taking measures to evaluate and reduce potential negative impacts.
You can take many small steps to reduce the number of PFAS-containing items in your home. Looking for PFAS-free products can be a good start, as well as transferring food from takeaway containers into glass or ceramic containers or dishes, especially before reheating.
The MWMC has tested its wastewater and biosolids for PFAS, and both ranges were very low. We are currently prioritizing outreach and education to reduce incoming PFAS to wastewater streams and supporting further research on the effects of PFAS and management strategies. This science is still very new, and there is a lot we don’t know about PFAS. We plan to continue to learn about the most effective measures to minimize the impact of PFAS and implement them responsibly.
Mercury
Mercury is a toxic heavy metal that can pollute water from household and industrial sources. Proper disposal is essential to keep mercury out of our waterways.
Additional Resources from the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality:
Mercury is an element and a heavy metal, widely known for being toxic. Exposure to mercury at sufficient levels can lead to serious illness for plants, animals, and humans. Because certain forms of mercury can dissolve in water, removing it from wastewater can be extremely difficult. Because of that, the best way to treat mercury in wastewater is to prevent it from entering the water at all.
- Fluorescent light bulbs
- Thermometers
- Thermostats
- Coin and button-size batteries
- Switches in vehicles
- Mercury lights in flat screen TVs and computer monitors
Businesses and organizations that use mercury for their operations should have separated waste streams to isolate mercury and hire a contractor to dispose of it.
For sources of mercury in the home, you can schedule an appointment at the Glenwood Transfer Station to drop off mercury-containing items. These items must be sealed. You can also schedule with the Glenwood Transfer Station to drop off other types of Household Hazardous Waste.
