Property owners, their agents and operators who generate wastewater from a business activity require trade waste approval to discharge trade waste to the sewer. We can provide advice about how to manage the approval process and how your use is monitored and reported.
Trade waste is liquid waste produced by a business, trade or manufacturing premises.
Common examples of trade waste are:
- rinsing and washing utensils and dishes
- preparing surfaces for food processing
- preparing surfaces for metal finishing
- equipment and vehicle cleaning.
We work with all trade waste producers to manage trade waste responsibly, to protect the health and safety of the community and the environment.
For more information, call us on 1300 000 928 or refer to our Trade waste guidelines(PDF, 700KB).
Trade waste approval
We issue a trade waste approval to the property owner and the business producing the trade waste.
There are no application or approval fees.
The approval is a certificate that sets out the conditions for discharging trade waste into the sewerage system.
It is an offence to discharge trade waste into the sewer without approval. Penalties apply.
Property owners and trade waste producers must meet the conditions, standards and requirements in the following documents:
The full process is outlined in our Trade waste guidelines(PDF, 7MB)
For more information call us on 1300 000 928.
To apply for approval visit Trade waste approval application.
Pre-treatment guidelines
Most trade waste has to be treated before entering the sewerage system.
Generally, adequately sized pre-treatment equipment such as grease arrestors, oily water separators or dry basket arrestors need to be installed.
For example, restaurants, cafés and eateries have a grease arrestor installed where there is washing of crockery, cutlery and utensils associated with food preparation or servery.
For more information, refer to our Pre-treatment guidelines(PDF, 251KB).
WasteID – electronic recording & reporting of wastewater
WasteID is a system which records and reports on the collection and disposal of tankered wastewater. It allows property owners and trade waste producers to monitor collection of their trade waste.
Trade waste producers can access a web portal to:
- confirm pre-treatment devices (grease arrestors, silt traps and oily water separators) are regularly serviced as required by individual trade waste approvals
- monitor and track the collection of trade waste
- access information
- highlight any issues with the devices or repairs required
- receive automatic notifications.
For more information read our WasteID fact sheet(PDF, 235KB).
Sewerage discharge factor
We use the industry specific discharge factor to determine the amount of water that enters a property through a water meter that is then discharged to the sewer. The discharge factor is used to calculate trade waste costs.
If you think it is not representative of the amount of water that your business discharges to the sewer, you can apply for a variation to the discharge factor.
For more information visit Variation to sewerage discharge factor application.
Industry group classifications
The discharge factor and the industry group classification are used to calculate trade waste costs.
Properties which have trade waste producers are classified by an industry group. Industry groups are numbered 0-3 which will indicate the increase to your quarterly non-residential sewage charge.
- Industry group 0: no increase
- Industry group 1: 5% increase
- Industry group 2: 10% increase
- Industry group 3: 15% increase
Trade waste is charged to the property complex, not the individual trade waste producer within a property. Please liaise with your property owner or landlord to determine how the charges will be passed on.
For industry group classifications, refer to appendix 1 of the Trade waste guidelines – load factor calculations(PDF, 7MB).
Changing your industry group
You can improve your load score and maintain lower load factor charges by ensuring that you meet all Sewer Admission Standards and comply with all pre-treatment requirements.
It is possible to change your industry group classification. Achieving best practice status for your trade waste processes and pre-treatment systems will reduce your industry group load score by one unit.
For advice on how you could be eligible for an industry group reclassification contact us on 1300 000 928.