Omni Containment Systems developed our products to help kitchen exhaust cleaners safeguard commercial restaurants from the threat of fire. We achieve this by providing patented solutions that adhere to the NFPA 96 Standard. The NFPA 96 Standard reduces the risk of catastrophic fires each year. This is an essential guideline for commercial kitchen exhaust systems and rooftops. While the NFPA 96 Standard outlines excellent criteria for preventing fires, restaurants still need to prevent environmental problems to avoid fines from the EPA and local ordinance.

Polluting the Environment

Kitchen exhaust systems can be a source of environmental problems if they are not maintained or equipped with a proper grease containment system. The kitchen exhaust system distributes airborne grease that travels up onto the rooftop. If the rooftop grease is not contained, this grease will not only pool on your rooftop, but it will also wash into rain gutters and down the side of your building to the parking lot, eventually entering into a storm sewer.

The NFPA 96 Standard addresses airborne grease by outlining criteria for a grease collection system, but a restaurant also needs to ensure that grease does not wash off the rooftop. If the grease from the restaurant exceeds the exhaust fan’s collection capacity, it can enter the storm water drain. In addition, kitchen exhaust cleaners need to adhere to environmental standards while cleaning the kitchen exhaust system and remain especially careful when washing equipment outside.

Government Regulations

Grease is considered a stormwater pollutant by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The EPA states, “Stormwater runoff is generated from rain and snowmelt events that flow over impervious surfaces, such as paved streets, parking lots, and building rooftops, and does not soak into the ground. The runoff picks up pollutants like trash, chemicals, oils, and dirt/sediment that can harm our rivers, streams, lakes, and coastal waters.” The National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) regulates stormwater pollutions. They recognize that population growth and the development of urban/urbanized areas are major contributors to the number of pollutants in the runoff. Since grease is considered a pollutant, businesses cannot discharge any pollutants into water without obtaining a permit. Any unauthorized discharge of grease contaminated storm water into storm drains is considered illegal.

At Omni Containment Systems, you may have noticed our earth-friendly product logo on our patented products. This is because we have been eliminating fats, oils, and grease from storm water systems since 2000. Kevin Chwala, our Founder and Chief Product Designer, was an early pioneer in the industry of grease containment. These patented designs are not only NFPA 96 compliant, but they are also earth friendly. Today, Omni holds six patents all related to the management of fats, oils, and grease.

Earth-Friendly Grease Containment Systems

Omni Containment Systems only designs systems that feature Off-the-Roof Protection. Each containment system defends your rooftop from grease and will not hide grease under layers of filters that sit on top of your roof. We carry five distinct and specific rooftop grease containment systems with Off-the-Roof Protection. Each system is designed with specific restaurant circumstances in mind, making sure that the proper solution is available and affordable for any grease containment need. All our grease containment systems are earth-friendly by allowing rainwater to pass through while absorbing all the grease output from the fan. This is achieved by using our hydrophobic filters. Omni only has one filterless grease containment system, the Exhaust Fan Interceptor (EFI), which processes rainwater, allowing it to escape freely, but facilitates wash water recovery during servicing.

Earth-Friendly Hydrophobic Filters

All Omni products are designed and built with our environment in mind. We are proud of our hydrophobic filter technology that is utilized in the Grease Gutter, the Grease Gutter Sidekick, and the Grease Box. The Omni hydrophobic filter is absolutely zero waste. It is made of biodegradable and recycled materials, meaning it will not sit in a landfill for the remainder of its life. It can also become 100% fully saturated with grease, leaving no extra room for water or unsaturated filter. The filter meets EPA Storm Water Management requirements by absorbing all grease output and no water. Make sure to have your filters changed regularly to keep your rooftop safe and compliant.

Earth-Friendly Pavement Protection

Commercial restaurants can also cause environmental problems around grease dumpster areas. Professional cleaners also need to take special care when cleaning grease dumpster areas to deter fats, oils, and grease from entering the storm water drain. These areas are susceptible to dangerous grease spills that are often laden with garbage and other caustic pollutants. Omni Containment has an earth-friendly product for these troublesome areas, the Lane Guard. If you do not have a Lane Guard, it can lead to grease being dispersed all over your pavement and, if ignored, these grease particles will enter the storm water system. This negligence can lead to fines from the EPA and local ordinances. This is just one of the top four reasons to choose a Lane Guard.

Conclusion

We understand that when you are operating a commercial restaurant, you want to it to be safe, sustainable, and environmentally friendly. That is why Omni Containment Systems continually designs products that enable our clients to exceed their fats, oils, and grease containment needs with environmentally responsible solutions. When you invest in the Omni brand of solutions, you are not only safeguarding your investment from fire, but you also are protecting against stormwater pollution in our environment. Contact our team today to learn more about how we can protect your commercial kitchen.