Food business wastewater

Remove solids, oils and grease from your wastewater at the source to prevent blockages, save water, money and protect our waterways.

On this page

What's in your wastewater?

Sites that need our approval

Your business requirements

What's in your wastewater?

Food businesses produce wastewater which contains organic material and grease.  Organic material can cause odours and corrode our wastewater system. Grease can block our systems, overflow into waterways or backflow into your premises.

You can reduce the impacts by producing less waste and following our requirements.

Pollutants and impacts from food businesses

SourcePossible effects

Food solids
Trade wastewater contains food particles from plate leftovers and pot cleaning.

Blocked drainage within your premises, creating expensive plumbing bills.

Damage to our pumps and extra load on the wastewater treatment processes, making it more costly to treat the wastewater.

Blocked wastewater pipes, causing wastewater to back up and overflow.

Fats, oils and grease
Trade wastewater from washing up includes food particles and sauce, gravy, salad dressing and meat juice residue.

Blocked drainage on your premises, creating expensive plumbing bills.

Blocked wastewater pipes, causing wastewater to back up and overflow.

 

 

Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD)
Trade wastewater contains small particles of food, gravy and sauce residues and sugars. This organic material is a readily accessible food source for microorganisms present in the wastewater system (sewer).

Odours in your premises or in the wastewater system.

Accelerated corrosion in our wastewater system, causing wastewater to leak into the environment and require costly repairs.

 

 

Temperatures above 25°C
High-temperature dishwashers release wastewater at high temperatures.

Accelerated corrosion in our wastewater system, causing wastewater to leak into the environment and require costly repairs.

Barriers that stop your grease trap from working properly.

Greasy wastewater entering our system, causing blockages because oil and grease aren't cool enough to separate in the grease trap.

Show less

Sites that need our approval

If your site prepares, cooks, serves or sells food or drink, you may need our consent to discharge commercial trade wastewater.

Business types can include:

  • restaurants, takeaway outlets and cafés
  • supermarkets, butchers and bakeries
  • catering services, function centres, hotels and motels
  • hospitals, schools, nursing homes and childcare centres.

Home-based businesses preparing food for sale through school canteens, markets, online sales or catering services may also require consent.

Your business requirements

Your business will have to meet our requirements, which may include:

  • having an approved grease trap installed by a licensed plumber and properly maintained
  • in-floor and in-sink waste bucket traps in all prep sinks and floor wastes in all food-preparation areas
  • a boundary trap with a gravity connection to our wastewater system
  • a backflow containment device at the property boundary or directly after the water meter
  • a tap within 5 metres of any pre-treatment equipment (such as a grease trap) with a backflow prevention device on the inlet side of the tap.

Choose from our listed pre‑treatment for food businesses.

Never put food scraps or waste oil into a sink or grease trap. Collect waste oil from deep fryers and barbecues, store it in sealed containers in a bunded area and have an oil recycler collect it.

If you have a grease trap, you must empty, clean and maintain it using a Wastesafe transporter.

Find out more about saving water

See water efficiency tips for your business to learn how to monitor and manage your water use. Larger businesses can check out water saving solutions from WaterFix® Commercial.

Grease traps are the most common form of pre-treatment for food businesses. You need to properly install and maintain your grease trap to continue to meet our requirements.

These fact sheets provide more information about grease traps:

What you must doWhy

Engage a licensed plumber. When the work is complete, ask your plumber for a certificate of compliance.

The grease trap must be installed according to the manufacturer's instructions, our requirements and The Plumbing Code of Australia.

Size the grease trap to meet your maximum hourly flow now and into the future.

An undersized grease trap will not treat your trade wastewater. We may ask you to install additional pre-treatment.

Install the grease trap as close to the source (kitchen area) as possible.

If you use long pipe runs, they can become clogged with grease. This can cause overflows in your property.

Install the grease trap so it drains by gravity to the wastewater system (sewer).

Using pumps adds complexity and additional costs. If your pump fails, the grease trap will overflow within your property.

Ensure your grease trap is regularly cleaned.

Grease traps must be pumped out regularly. Your waste contractor will pump out the contents, clean the internal surfaces and scrape the inside of the grease trap. We'll specify how often your grease trap needs to be pumped out.

Fact sheetWhat you'll learn

How the wastewater system works

فهم نظام الصرف الصحي

下水システムについて理解する

폐수 시스템의 이해

了解废水系统

Hiểu hệ thống nước thải

The waste from a food business has a much higher concentration of fat, oil and grease than your average home and there's a lot more of it. Find out how we deal with it, and what you can do to help.

Managing waste in your food business

إدارة النفايات في عملك التجاري لألغذية

食品事業の廃棄物を管理する

식품업체의 폐기물 관리

餐饮行业的废弃物管理

Quản lý chất thải tại doanh nghiệp thực phẩm của quý vị

Solid waste like food scraps should go in the bin, and liquid waste like cooking oils should be recycled. It's easy to adopt sustainable practices in your food business.

Saving water in your food business

توفير المياه في عملك التجاري لألغذية

食品事業での節水

식품업체의 절수

餐饮行业中 的节约用水

Tiết kiệm nước tại doanh nghiệp thực phẩm của quý vị

Save money by managing water efficiently and contribute to a sustainable environment. Follow these practical tips for creating a better life for you, your staff and Greater Sydney.

Pre-treatment equipment: Everything you ever wanted to know about grease traps

معدات المعالجة االولية كل ما تريد معرفته عن مصائد الشحوم

前処理設備 グリース阻集器について知っておきたいこと

전처리 장치 그리스 트랩에 관해 알아야 할 사항

预处理设备 您想知道的有关隔油池的一切

Thiết bị xử lý sơ bộ Mọi thứ quý vị hằng muốn biết về bộ phận tách mỡ

What you put into the sink can end up in our oceans and rivers. Find out what you can do to help prevent solids from blocking your plumbing and our wastewater system (sewer), and disrupting treatment processes.

What commercial business customers need to know

ما تحتاجون إىل معرفته لعمالء االعمال التجارية

事業者顧客として知っておくべきこと

상용 비즈니스 고객을 위해 알아야 할 사항

商业客户须知

Những điều quý vị cần biết dành cho khách hàng doanh nghiệp thương mại

What are your obligations, and what services do we offer? Find out about our agreement with you, and our services, fees and charges.

Food waste processing customer guide

What are your obligations when using a food waste technology product before discharging to our wastewater network? Find out about available products and your requirements when using them to manage food waste.