BREMERTON — After his landscape company closed in 2014, Ken Perry pursued a new career in an unlikely place: down the drain.

The 53-year-old Manette entrepreneur believed there was a better way to capture the vast majority of the oils, muck and other debris that flows into drains that, around here, pour into Puget Sound. He also thought that, if a kind of filter could be manufactured efficiently and cheaply, it could be a profitable product.

To the drawing board, he went.

"I found myself with a Rolodex of 750 names and an idea," he said.

Perry believes he's perfected what he patented as the "Retain Drain," a stainless steel kit equipped with layers of filters that stop contaminants and garbage from moving beyond their first stop in the maze of stormwater drains that dot the asphalt of roads and parking lots.

"I think it's a good idea that we start to filter storm water at the source," he said. "We're catching between 70 to 80 percent of contamination for a device that can be installed in minutes."

Now in production, his drain has already attracted a high-profile client: Costco, known for its large parking lots. Perry said he's installed his drains at eight locations in the Pacific Northwest, including in Seattle.

"He's set himself apart for how much his drains can filter out," said Leesah Blanchard, Costco's director of environmental operations in global sustainability and compliance, who added the company is still reviewing how many and where Perry's product will be installed.

Though each Costco warehouse has different systems, Perry was able to demonstrate that catching debris and contaminants at the first drain they encounter was not only more effective at keeping junk out of local waterways, but it was cheaper for the company. Costco, he said, had been collecting much of such contamination in a vault where all drains send runoff — a vault that is costly to maintain.

"I proved to Costco I could save them great amounts of money," he said.

Perry is still looking for investors to grow his business and new clients for the drains. He's also introduced the product to several local governments. Chance Berthiaume, Bremerton's stormwater manager, said Perry's system worked well as a trial run on a drain downtown but required more frequent maintenance than the city could provide — "but a good product for commercial lots where you have less traffic," he said.

The innards of Perry's drain start with a perforated 22-gauge stainless steel cage that helps slow water down as it enters. From there, it can drip like a coffee filter down onto a bed of coconut coir, or fibre, that catches fine sediments and oils.

There's also a layer of fiber made from recycled carpet, as well as another filter of polyester made from old plastic bottles, which are melted and have a texture like cotton candy, Perry said. He's hopeful the only thing left getting through is mostly water.

"It catches just about everything," he said.