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Commercial Customers

Trade Waste Management Plan for Commercial Customers

To help businesses understand and meet their obligations, Sydney Water has developed a Trade Waste Management Plan for Commercial Customers (PDF - 200KB) which details how commercial customers can manage their discharges to sewer and meet the conditions of their agreement with Sydney Water.

Applying for a Commercial Trade Waste Permit

Complete your commercial trade waste permit online. Once you have completed your online application, you must print this form and have it signed by the property owner or managing agent acting on behalf of the property owner. You must ensure you have included the details of all existing and proposed pre-treatment and a diagram outlining the trade waste installation and backflow prevention device/s. You need to send your completed application form and supporting documents to Sydney Water using the address provided on the form. When Sydney Water has received all the documentation, a Customer Service Representative will contact you to arrange an inspection of your premises.

Sydney Water will send the completed permit to both the property owner and the tenant.

The permit will specify the:

If the property changes hands, the new owner must apply for a new trade waste permit.

Variation to a Commercial Trade Waste Permit

If the type of business conducted on a property is going to change, for example from printers to a butcher shop, the conditions of the permit may need to be changed, or a new permit may need to be issued. This is because the pre-treatment for one type of business may not be suitable for another, so the pre-treatment and the charges may differ.

Commercial Permit Variation Form (PDF - 22KB)

Cancelling a Commercial Trade Waste Permit

If your business is closing or is changing its processes and a Trade Waste Permit is no longer required, you can download the Cancel Trade Waste Permit form and submit it to Sydney Water for a Customer Service Representative to review. Sydney Water will send you confirmation of your request.

Commercial Permit Notice of Closure (PDF - 32KB)

Fees and Charges

Sydney Water charges for the amount and type of trade wastewater and substances discharged to the sewerage system. These charges cover the costs of transporting and treating wastewater and offer incentives for businesses to control the amount of trade wastewater and substances they discharge. The less a business discharges of a particular substance, the less it pays.

Commercial customers fees and charges (PDF - 84KB)

Pre-treatment

You must obtain a trade waste permit from Sydney Water before you install any pre-treatment equipment or discharge trade wastewater to the sewer.

Sydney Water needs to ensure that any pre-treatment products used by you do not pose any risk to public health, the environment or cause damage to our sewerage system. Therefore, all commercial pre-treatment products must go through an assessment and authorisation process before they can be made available to you for installation.

The minimum pre-treatment equipment requirements for trade wastewater generating processes and types of pre-treatment used in treating trade wastewater from commercial customers can be found in the booklet Pre-treatment of trade wastewater from commercial customers (PDF - 2.23MB)

Information on currently authorised commercial customer pre-treatment products including grease traps, oil water separators and other types of pre-treatment that may be installed in Sydney Water's area of operation can be found in the product listing - Authorised pre-treatment products for commercial processes (PDF - 80KB)

Guidelines (PDF - 143KB) outlining the product appraisal criteria and appraisal process for pre-treatment products can be found on the Water Services Association of Australia (WSAA) website. A product appraisal application form (PDF - 92KB) can also be found on the WSAA website.

Pre-treatment Fact Sheets

Cleaner Production

Wastewater treatment equipment can be expensive to install and operate. Cleaner production techniques complement wastewater treatment and can minimise and in some cases even eliminate ongoing treatment costs.

The Department of Environment and Heritage provides case studies and examples of businesses which have implemented cleaner production techniques. Cleaner production is a win for business and a win for the environment.

Cleaner Production for Retail Food Services

Trade waste cleaner production (PDF - 493KB)

Cleaner Production for Motor Vehicle Industry

Motor Vehicle Cleaner Production (PDF - 98KB)

Trade Waste in Shopping Centres

Retail food outlets and other businesses (PDF - 69KB)

Fees and Charges (PDF - 49KB)

Mechanical Workshops and Vehicle washing (PDF - 58KB)