Those unwanted pounds around your middle aren't the only problem to arise from a big Thanksgiving meal.

For the city of Savannah, it's the start of another seasonal headache: Clogged sewer lines from so much grease being poured down drains.

"This time of the year is when we get a lot of grease blockages," said Bret Bell, the city of Savannah's director of public information. "People are doing a lot of cooking, and their cooking is heavy in animal fat."

Much like a person's veins can become narrower and eventually blocked from fatty buildup, so can city sewer lines. The city is hosting a grease recycling event Monday to try to minimize its problem.

Bill Steinhauser is superintendent of wastewater conveyance for the city. Older clay and concrete pipes, having rougher surfaces, catch and accumulate grease more easily. To clear a blocked line, city crews have to pump pressurized water through the line, he said. Sometimes, though, the problem isn't discovered until sewage backs up, requiring a more extensive cleanup.

The city has an employee who monitors businesses for compliance in having grease traps, which has reduced problems. Before that monitoring, city data shows, the city had about 1,200 line blocks a year. Since 2000, it is averaging about 500 a year.

The best way to dispose of grease, food scraps, sauces, gravy and similar leftovers is to collect them in a container, city officials said. If the containers can't be dropped off at the city's recycling site, they should be disposed of in the trash.

Steinhauser also corrected a misconception about using hot water to break down grease headed for the drain.

"It just makes it fluid for a short period," he said. "Just long enough to get into the main sewer line where it cools and hardens again."