Search keywords  [S] Advanced Search 

 Site Map 

Purpose-made for storing FAT, OIL and GREASE from Household cooking

You are here: Home > Solutions to Pollutions > Kitchen > The Fat Trap

• The Fat Trap
  • The Original Fat Trap
  • Green Apple Award
• How to use
• How to Empty for Re-use
  • Prior to Emptying
  • Emptying
• Buy your own Fat Trap

The Original Fat Trap

The Fat Trap was developed by the Less Mess Limited company in 2003 after a cooking accident.

This is a plastic tub with a volume of 500 ml.  It has an internal funnel and a screw-on cap.

You keep it on the kitchen work-surface between the stove and the sink.   It is attractive enough that it can be accepted as belonging on the work surface and so not be relegated to a cupboard under it.

Green Apple Award

Tina Pearce of Less Mess Limited, has won a prestigious Green Apple environment award for her patented Fat Trap.   The awards are recognized as being one of the biggest environmental award schemes in the world.

In fact she won the Green Champion Award, Products Category 2006 the top prize in this category, and as such she is acknowledged as one of the UK's leaders in setting environmental standards for others to follow.

How to Use

You simply take the cooking container -- a frying pan or roasting tin -- and pour the cooled-off still-liquid fat or oil into the Fat Trap instead of down the sink.

The Fat Trap is superior to an empty margarine tub or plastic jar in that it cannot deform with heat, has a secure cap, and the funnel stops the FOG from splashing.

It is conspicuously coloured (blue).  Located right in front of you, you'll notice it frequently, and remember to use it when you should.

It is always there when you come to wash the cooking pan, and find oil or fat in it.   With a half-turn of the cap, the Fat Trap is ready to use.

Then using kitchen paper, wipe off any residual grease from the surfaces of the cooking pan, before washing it.   A small amount of FOG will be washed down the sink, but no more than comes off plates after a meal.

How to Empty for Re-use:

Prior to Emptying

The plastic Fat Traps are relatively easy to empty.  Emptying can be done at the same time as you do the washing up.

You'll need to have saved a container you intended to throw away to put the fat and oil into.  Pick one with a good cap that used to hold a liquid. If you're not sure about the cap take a piece of Glad Wrap or other food film and put that over the top before you put the cap on.

Using a glass jar means that the glass cannot be recycled, but putting fat and oil down the drain is a worse option.  It's a lose-lose situation.

WARNING:	DO NOT put the Fat Trap in a microwave oven to melt the fat.   Fat heats very unevenly in a microwave, like butter does.   Part can get so hot it can scald you while another part is still solid.   Heating oil in a microwave is always dangerous.   It also heats unevenly and can "boil" and throw scaling oil around the inside of the oven.
WARNING:	DO NOT put the Fat Trap in a dishwasher.  The label will come off and it is not designed to be dishwasher proof.

Emptying

Pour off any liquid	If there is any oily liquid in the tub, pour it off first into your throwaway container.  There might in fact be nothing in there other than oily liquid.  If the mouth of your container is narrow, you can use the funnel from the Fat Trap to avoid spillages.
Handle the fat:
Either: Float in hot water to soften the fat	Dunk it in the hot washing up water for a couple of minutes! Float the Fat Trap in your hot washing up water to soften the fat so it is liquid enough to pour - with its cap on!.   Don't leave it in for more than a couple of minutes or the Fat Trap label will discolour.   If the fat doesn't soften, use hotter water the next time.
Pour into your container	Pour into your container Slide or pour the contents into your container.  The softened fat isn't hot enough to crack glass or deform a yoghurt pot or margarine tub.
Let it go solid again	Leave the fat to go solid again.  If the container isn't full then store it for the next time.
Or: The messier alternative	Use a knife or spoon to scrape the fat from the sides of the tub.  The fat removed this way can go straight into a plastic bag or be wrapped in newspaper, and be put into the household rubbish.
Wipe and wash	Wipe the insides of the Fat Trap free of mess with kitchen paper first, then wash off any greasy residue.  A small amount of FOG will be washed down the sink, but no more than comes off a dinner plate.
Throw out the container when full	If your container is large then keep adding to it each time you empty the Fat Trap until it is full.  (If it goes "furry" before it is full, give up on it and treat it as full!)   If the container contains liquid and is not made of glass, it might leak.  Put it in a plastic bag and knot the top of the bag securely.  Put the container out with the household rubbish.

Buy your own Fat Trap

Fat Traps are sold in New Zealand by FOG-Catcher Limited and you can purchase them through this website.

[L]  Legal Stuff