Over the past decade, we have seen a huge turn in the interceptor market — the adoption of HDPE (plastic) interceptors. There are several advantages using an HDPE interceptor, with the biggest benefit being the longevity of the unit compared to a concrete alternative.
As can be surmised, a concrete unit will fail — it is not a matter of if it will fail, it is a matter of when it will fail. Once grease has been sitting in an interceptor for over two weeks’ time, it gets to a pH level of <5, meaning it is highly acidic. At this point, the grease starts to eat away at the concrete, destroying the unit. Although a concrete unit typi-cally has a 4-inch thick wall, there is rebar halfway in between the wall to give it structure. Once this rebar is exposed, the unit begins to collapse inward on itself. So, even though the unit is 4 inches thick, in reality it only has 2 inches of effectiveness.