Sewerage / Sheet 6
Trade waste: when a business needs approval
A business that sends anything other than household-type wastewater down the drain usually needs its water utility’s approval first, set out in an agreement that controls what may be discharged and what pre-treatment equipment it needs. Yarra Valley Water counts all liquid waste from business activities as trade waste, clear tap water included.
General information from the utilities’ and regulators’ own pages, listed at the foot of this page. Your own water utility and council set the rules for your property.
What counts as trade waste
Icon Water’s definition is liquid waste that is not domestic in amount or nature: not what daily life at home produces. Yarra Valley Water says it can carry chemicals, grease, oil, food scraps and other contaminants, and that a business of any size can produce it.
The utilities’ example lists run long. Between them they include restaurants, cafés, bakeries, butchers and delicatessens; mechanics, panel beaters, spray painters, car washes and service stations; laundromats, dry cleaners and pet groomers; dentists, hospitals and schools; printers, breweries, swimming pools and cooling towers.
Why the utilities care: Hunter Water describes trade wastewater as an operational, environmental and safety risk to the network and the community, and Yarra Valley Water says its agreements also protect the staff who go into the sewer to maintain it.
Three utilities, compared
The principle is shared; the details are not. Even who needs approval differs: Icon Water lists hairdressers among the businesses that produce liquid trade waste, while Hunter Water names hairdressing salons as exempt.
| Item | Yarra Valley Water (Melbourne north and east) | Hunter Water (Lower Hunter) | Icon Water (Canberra) |
|---|---|---|---|
| The approval | A Trade Waste Agreement | Written approval, formalised in a deed | An approval to discharge, as a separate customer contract |
| Fees | An application fee and an annual contract fee, stepped by risk ranking | An establishment or renewal fee once approved, plus trade waste charges | No fee to apply or to receive approval |
| Pre-treatment | A food business may need a grease trap | The business pre-treats to Hunter Water’s requirements | Set by its standard and guide notes |
| Checking | Random inspections | Regular audits that inspect the site and sample the waste | Approval conditions must keep being met |
| When the business changes | Notify on closing or selling, or charges continue | Apply to vary the agreement | A new tenant or a change of activity needs a variation |
Skipping it has consequences. Yarra Valley Water says a business without an agreement, or not complying with one, can be fined for each day under the Water Act 1989, and can be disconnected from the sewer altogether.
Pre-treatment and habits
Pre-treatment equipment sits between the business and the sewer. Hunter Water recognises grease arrestors from 1,000 litres up to 5,000 litres, and asks for a hydraulic design assessment before a new facility is built or an old one changed.
Its everyday advice to businesses, in brief:
- recycle used cooking oil instead of pouring oil, grease or fat down the sink;
- put food solids such as scraps and batter in the bin;
- use biodegradable detergent, and not too much of it;
- after an accredited contractor cleans the arrestor, refill it with clean water so it works properly straight away.
Example: a café in a leased shop
An exampleA made-up café, opening in a leased shop in Yarra Valley Water’s area. The steps follow Yarra Valley Water’s own answers; no figures are given because fees are set case by case.
- Who appliesThe café does. As the tenant it is responsible for the agreement and for managing trade waste on site, not the landlord.
- The applicationIt applies for a Trade Waste Agreement before discharging. Its fees depend on what it does on site, what is in its wastewater and how much of it there is.
- The equipmentAs a food business it may be required to install a grease trap under the agreement.
- RenovationsIf the fit-out changes later, it contacts the trade waste team first to see whether its requirements change.
- InspectionsIt can expect random inspections checking that it has an agreement and is keeping to it.
- Closing or sellingWhen it closes or changes hands, it tells Yarra Valley Water, or the charges keep running.