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FOG compliance for pubs and hotels is often harder than it looks, because these venues combine high-volume cooking, long service hours and drainage that was rarely designed for the fats, oils and grease (FOG) a busy kitchen produces. The good news is that staying compliant comes down to three repeatable things: separating grease before it enters the drains, servicing your equipment on a sensible schedule, and keeping records that prove you did both. This guide walks through what that looks like in practice for pub and hotel operators.
What FOG compliance means for pubs and hotels
FOG compliance is your duty not to discharge fats, oils and grease into the public sewer in a way that could cause blockages or pollution. In most UK areas the water and sewerage company can take action against premises whose waste contributes to drainage problems, and many require that food businesses fit and maintain adequate grease separation. For pubs and hotels this duty sits alongside your existing food hygiene and health-and-safety obligations, so it is best treated as part of routine kitchen management rather than a one-off task.
In practice, demonstrating compliance usually means being able to show three things: that you have suitable grease management equipment, that it is emptied and maintained regularly, and that trade waste is removed by a licensed carrier. Standards such as BS EN 1825 are commonly referenced for the design, sizing and installation of grease separators, and specifying to a recognised standard makes it much easier to prove your set-up is fit for purpose.
Why pubs and hotels face particular FOG challenges
Hospitality venues tend to produce more FOG, and produce it less predictably, than a single-shift restaurant. Common pressure points include:
- Long and split service hours. Breakfast, lunch, bar food and evening dining mean grease enters the drains across most of the day, giving deposits little chance to be flushed through.
- Fluctuating demand. Function bookings, weddings, match days and seasonal peaks can multiply covers overnight, overwhelming equipment sized for an average week.
- Older buildings and retrofitted kitchens. Many pubs and hotels operate in period properties where drainage runs are long, shallow or shared, so grease cools and solidifies before it leaves the building.
- Multiple outlets on one site. A hotel may run a main kitchen, a bar servery and banqueting all feeding the same drainage, making it harder to see where problems build up.
Left unmanaged, the result is slow drains, foul odours, backed-up gullies and, at worst, an internal flood of sewage during your busiest service. Prevention is almost always cheaper and less disruptive than an emergency call-out.
Your FOG compliance checklist
Use the steps below as a simple framework to get and stay compliant.
1. Assess what your kitchen actually produces
Start by understanding your menu, cover numbers and cooking methods. Frying, grilling and heavy use of dairy or oils all raise FOG output. Map where waste water leaves each appliance and sink so you know which drains need protecting.
2. Fit the right grease separation
Choose equipment sized to your peak load, not your average, and installed in line with a recognised standard such as BS EN 1825. Options range from passive grease traps to automated grease recovery units that skim and remove grease continuously. For high-volume or space-constrained pub and hotel kitchens, automated units often reduce manual handling and give more consistent performance.
3. Set a maintenance schedule
Agree a servicing routine before problems appear, and make one named person responsible for it. A schedule should cover emptying intervals, cleaning, and periodic inspection of the equipment and surrounding drainage.
4. Use licensed waste removal
Grease and trap waste is trade waste and must be removed by a licensed carrier. Keep the transfer documentation, as it forms part of your compliance evidence.
5. Train your team
Simple habits make a large difference: scraping plates and pans before washing, using sink strainers, never pouring hot oil down drains, and reporting slow drainage early. Brief new starters as part of induction.
How often should pubs and hotels service grease equipment?
There is no single interval that suits every site, because the right frequency depends on covers, menu and equipment type. As a general rule, the busier and greasier the kitchen, the more often separation equipment needs attention, and manual traps typically need emptying more frequently than well-maintained automated units. The practical answer is to base your schedule on how quickly your equipment actually fills, review it after busy periods, and increase frequency if you see grease carrying over or drains running slowly. It is far better to empty a little too often than to discover the problem during a wedding or a bank holiday.
Keeping records: your due diligence file
If a water company or environmental officer ever asks, your records are what demonstrate you have taken reasonable steps. A straightforward due diligence file should hold:
- Details and specification of your grease management equipment, including the standard it was installed to.
- Your maintenance and emptying schedule, with dates each service was carried out.
- Waste transfer notes from your licensed carrier.
- Any correspondence with your water and sewerage company.
- Staff training records relevant to FOG handling.
For multi-site operators, keeping these records in a consistent format across every venue makes it far easier to spot which sites are drifting and to prove compliance group-wide.
How Magneté helps
Magneté helps pubs, hotels and multi-site operators put all of this in place: assessing your kitchen's FOG output, specifying and installing grease separation to recognised standards, and keeping equipment serviced so you stay compliant without the emergency call-outs. We can also help you build the maintenance schedule and records that stand up to scrutiny. To review your set-up and get a clear plan for your venue, book a free strategy call.
