Trade waste is waterborne waste (other than waste that is a prohibited substance, human waste or stormwater) from:
- food service businesses
- commercial, manufacturing, trade or industrial premises
- commercial refrigeration, air conditioning or boiler operation
- ships
Before your business discharges trade waste into our sewers, the owner of the property where the waste water is generated must have a Trade Waste Approval.
Why do we manage trade waste?
It’s important to manage trade waste as it may contain substances that cause blockages or damage to our sewerage system or the environment.
We manage trade waste to protect:
- the safety of personnel working in and around our sewerage system
- sewerage infrastructure from degradation and damage
- treatment processes from adverse impacts
- the environment and waterways that receive treated wastewater
- downstream recycling of water and reuse of bio solids.
To recover the cost of managing the additional load trade waste imposes on the sewerage system, trade waste charges apply.
What are trade waste categories?
Trade waste approval holders will be assigned a trade waste category – 1, 2 or 3 – for charging purposes.
Category 1 approval holders will no longer incur trade waste charges and will pay sewage disposal charges instead, as their discharges are deemed at or below ‘domestic strength’ – i.e. the combined wastewater discharge is of a strength less than or equal to domestic sewage.
Category 2 approval holder discharges are deemed greater than ‘domestic strength’. Category 2 charges will be calculated based on water usage multiplied by Discharge Factor multiplied by an ‘above domestic strength’ tariff, which helps cover the treatment costs associated with above domestic strength trade waste.
Category 3 approval holders are those with approval to discharge more than 25kL per day or more than 25kg/day Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD). Category 3 charges are based on quality charges for Suspended Solids, BOD, Nitrogen (TKN) and Phosphorus (TP). These charges will be calculated using the customer’s input water volume, sewage discharge factor and readings from the trade waste discharge meter for accurate determination.
| Trade Waste |
Charge per kilolitre |
| Category 2 |
$1.050 |
|
Charge per kilogram
|
|
Category 3
Suspended solids
BOD
Nitrogen
Phosphorus
|
$1.950
$1.160
$2.940
$5.570
|