Trade Waste

Trade waste is any liquid that is discharged into Council's sewerage system as the result of any trade or industrial process.

Careful disposal of this type of waste is important to protect the environment and the health of the community.

Trade waste disposal is controlled by a bylaw to ensure safe disposal and to protect the sewerage system and treatment plants, which are essential city assets.

Grease traps

Commercial food premises and food preparation industries are required to have grease traps installed. They pre-treat the waste before it enters the treatment system (either Council's sewer line or a private septic tank).

Maintenance

Regardless of the size or design, all traps must be maintained on a regular basis appropriate to the level of use to ensure that they are working properly.

A cleaning frequency of 1-3 months is often acceptable, however the trap size (volume) and the load placed on the trap all vary from business to business, variations which will result in different cleaning intervals for each trap.

We would highlight that Council no longer permits servicing of these to be done by the business itself, instead they must be serviced by a contractor to a standard that meets the manufacturers specifications, e.g. a hygiene consultant or vacuum truck contractor.

You can find out about trap design, maintenance and information about the right trap for your business in our brochure for the food preparation and processing industry.

Trade Waste Information for the Food Preparation / Processing Industry(PDF, 289KB)