Tempe requires a permitted hauler to service grease traps monthly and grease interceptors quarterly, or more often when needed. Traps suit kitchens with four or fewer grease fixtures and no commercial dishwasher. Bigger kitchens need an outdoor interceptor of 500 to 2,500 gallons. Keep every pump-out record on site.
Which device does your kitchen need?
Tempe City Code Sec. 27-22, as the city's FOG page cites it, requires every food service establishment to have a grease trap or an interceptor. The city's FOG page sorts them by size and fixture count.
| Grease trap | Grease interceptor | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it sits | Usually indoors | Outside the building |
| Size | Minimum 50 gpm / 100 lb capacity | 500 gallons minimum, 2,500 gallons maximum |
| When it applies | Four or fewer kitchen fixtures on the grease line | More than four fixtures, or any commercial dishwasher |
| Pump-out | Monthly | Quarterly |
A "fixture" here means sinks, floor drains and similar kitchen drains connected to the grease waste line. If you run a commercial-grade dishwasher, the trap is off the table. You need an interceptor. We cover that rule in can a commercial dishwasher drain into a grease trap.
What a Tempe FOG inspector looks for
The city runs routine inspections. Here's the list from its FOG page:
- 1The device was serviced by a permitted non-hazardous liquid waste hauler on schedule.
- 2Pump-out records are kept on site and ready to show.
- 3The device is in good condition, with no holes, missing or broken parts, or severe corrosion.
- 4Three-compartment sinks, floor sinks, mop sinks, floor drains and dishwashers are plumbed to the grease device.
- 5No garbage disposals or food grinders.
Item four surprises people. A mop sink that dumps into the regular sewer line instead of the grease device is a violation, even if everything else is spotless. If you are building out a space, sort this out at plan review. Fixing it under a finished floor later is the expensive route. Our commercial tenant improvement plumbing page covers what else to line up.
Why the schedule is a floor, not a target
Monthly and quarterly are minimums. A fryer-heavy kitchen can fill a trap well ahead of the calendar, and the fix is more frequent service, not a longer wait. For how to measure fill level and set your own interval, read how often should a restaurant grease trap be pumped. If the device is already overflowing, start with commercial kitchen drain overflowing.
For comparison, neighboring Scottsdale writes its cleaning intervals into its plumbing code with a 30-day and a 90-day tier, so the numbers look familiar across the Valley. Each city still enforces its own version.
HQ can look over your existing trap or interceptor plumbing and give you a free estimate before you commit to any changes.