Services and Facilities
Trade Waste
Click here for a Trade waste application form
For more forms and factsheets, scroll to the bottom of the page.
About tradewaste
As part of State Government requirements, the Cassowary Coast Regional Council has a Trade Waste Environmental Management Plan and must strictly regulate the discharge of trade waste to the sewer.
All discharges must comply with the sewer admission standards set out in the management plan. Trade waste is the liquid waste generated from any industry, business trade or manufacturing process. It does not include human waste.
The following information is a guide to help waste generators. As waste quality may vary both within a given industry and between individual industries of the same type, the adequacy of these guidelines will need to be verified for each discharge.
To apply for a Trade Waste Discharge Permit in the Cassowary Coast Region, please fill out an application form and return it to the Cassowary Coast Regional Council.
Waste from commercial and service industries
Owners of all premises where commercial or service enterprises are undertaken, or are likely to be undertaken, must apply to the Cassowary Coast Regional Council for a Trade Waste Permit to discharge waste to the sewer.
Discharge without approval is an offence under the Water Supply (Safety and Reliability) Act 2008 and the Local Government Act 1993 and is subject to penalties of up to 1665 penalty units ($166,500.00) as defined in the Act.
Commercial and service enterprises include, but are not limited to, the following:
- restaurants, coffee shops, cafes, fast food outlets/takeaways, delicatessens, icecream parlours
- butchers, bakers/hot bread shops, pie/pastry outlets, seafood shops
- hotels, motels, clubs, hairdressers, laundromats, supermarkets/shopping centres
- service stations/ other automotive related businesses (small scale), large & small engineering works
- hospitals, nursing homes, medical surgeries (includes dental, veterinary, chiropractic – where they have x-rays)
- garbage collection areas in commercial buildings, photographic/x-ray/graphic arts/mini labs
- air-conditioning waste-condensates, cooling tower wastes, commercial refrigeration condensates
- swimming pool backwash water, commercial car washes and car detailing, car wash for unit construction of 12 units or more
- childcare centres, schools and funeral parlours.
In most cases these businesses would be classified as minor generators and wastes would be suitable for discharge to the sewer after appropriate pre-treatment. However, the trade waste officer will assess all trade waste generators and determine their category.
What you should know about your grease arrestor
How it works
Grease arrestors are designed to keep as much fat oil and grease (FOG) as possible out of the sewerage system to minimise blockages and odours. A grease arrestor cools waste allowing FOG to separate and float to the surface of the trap. Some solids may settle at the bottom of the arrestor as sludge.
Grease arrestor maintenance
Clean your grease arrestor regularly by using a Cassowary Coast Regional Council-approved liquid waste contractor. There is a list of approved contractors at the bottom of this section. This will help reduce odours and prolong the life of the arrestor. A correctly-sized arrestor will need cleaning every eight to 12 weeks. Recommendations for cleaning times are listed on your Trade Waste Permit.
Keep vents, lids, frames and concrete surrounds in good order. Poorly-fitted or damaged vents, lids and frames may allow odours to escape or vermin to breed. Public safety and the infiltration of rainwater are also major concerns.
A hose tap needs to be installed within five metres of the grease trap. This hose tap needs to be used for grease trap cleaning purposes only. A backflow prevention device (double-check valve) needs to be installed immediately prior to the hose tap.
Recycle all spent cooking oils
Do not dispose of unwanted oil and grease through your arrestor. This will adversely affect the quality of effluent discharged to the sewer and you will need to service your arrestor much more frequently. Most cooking oils are suitable for recycling.
Grease arrestor requirements
Do not discharge garbage grinder or hairdresser waste through your grease trap.
Do not attempt to clean your grease arrestor yourself.
The use of solvents, enzymes, mutant bacteria, odour control units or pesticide in grease arrestor traps is prohibited unless specifically approved by the trade waste officer.
The maximum allowable capacity of an individual grease arrestor is 2000 litres. Where the capacity requirements for a premise are greater than 2000 litres, additional arrestors shall be used, with each arrestor to be a discrete installation separately treating a defined waste stream. The minimum size grease arrestor allowable in a commercial situation is 550 litres.
Grease convertors and big dippers are not allowed.
In-sink bucket trap and in-floor bucket trap
Install an authorised in-sink bucket trap and in-floor bucket trap in food preparation and handling areas.
Oil arrestors
Oily waste water can interfere with the operation of Council's sewerage system, have an impact on the wastewater discharged to the environment and affect the health of people working on the sewerage system.
In-ground triple-chamber-type oil arrestors are no longer permitted for oil and grease separation. Oil arrestors need to be the coalescing plate type, vertical gravity arrestors, hydro-cyclones or other Cassowary Coast Regional Council-approved devices.
Oil arrestor pumps
Only non–emulsifying pumps such as an electrically-driven diaphragm pump (at less than 40 cycles per minute) or a mono pump may be used to pump the wastewater to an arrestor. The pump discharge must not be greater than the capacity of the arrestor.
Any person wishing to sell an oil arrestor system which includes the pump for treatment of wastewater going to sewer must conform to these guidelines.
Bunding
The area around all treatment installations must be bunded. There must be no spillage or overflow of trade wastewater influent or effluent, sludge or treatment chemicals to the stormwater or sewerage systems (by gravity or by automated mechanical means).
Ensure that the oil separator is inside a bunded area.
Installation requirements for oil arrestors are as follows:
- Only Council-approved equipment is to be installed
- Installation must comply with relevant Council building and plumbing by-laws
- Minimum capacity: 1000 litres per hour
- Where required, pumps are to be sized so as not to exceed the capacity of the arrestor
- Only approved non-emulsifying pumps are to be used
- Sludge outlet to be fitted with a full-flow valve
- Manufacturers' recommended servicing/clean schedules must be adhered to
- Servicing records are to be kept and made available to trade waste officers
- Cleaners and detergents must be of "quick break" formulation
- Sludge container and an oil container must be placed under the sludge and oil outlet pipes.
N.B. In-ground oil arrestor grease silt traps are no longer acceptable.
A permit to undertake plumbing work must be obtained from Council prior to installation.
All work needs to be performed by a licensed plumber/drainer.
Ways to reduce wastewater levels
There are a number of ways to reduce wastewater levels and lessen the load placed on pre-treatment facilities. These can even lead to re-classification as a non-discharger. Some of the practices are:
- Use less water by adopting dry cleaning methods. The less water used, the less trade waste wastewater needs to be treated.
- Dry cleaning methods include wiping up spills and sweeping, rather than hosing. There are absorbent packs available to soak up oil spills.
- Ensure that all equipment is properly cleaned and maintained.
- Don't pour oil down the drain, Ensure that adequate storage is provided for used oil and that a collection program is arranged with an oil recycler.
- Use "quick break" detergents. These help remove oil at the pre-treatment stage.
- Use cleaning products that have a PH of between 7 -10 at working concentrations.
Permit fees
Trade waste permit fees are charged annually and in advance. There are no application/assessment fees when applying for a new permit. See our fees and charges for standard prices. Please contact Council if you have any questions relating to your payment arrangements.
Updating your permit
If you want to make changes to your permit you need to submit a new Trade Waste Discharge Permit application form.
A new permit will be required for the following circumstances:
- A change of business name and/or mailing address
- When existing owners add a new partner
- A change of signatures
- A transfer of ownership
- A change of generators.
If you have any queries regarding changes to a permit, please contact Council or your Council trade waste officer.
Cancelling your tradewaste permit
If you want to cancel a trade waste permit, please inform Cassowary Coast Regional Council (with attention to the trade waste officer) in writing, including the following details:
- the final day of trading for the business
- the forwarding address and phone number of the permit holder.
Please allow trade waste officers to have full access to your business site in order to make their final inspections. If you have a water meter in place, a final reading will be made.
After the final inspection Council may issue you with a final account for any outstanding fees and charges. Please note: There are no refunds on any permit issued, and permits are not transferable.
Cassowary Coast licenced pump-out contractors
Septic tank waste
| Peterson's Waste | 07 4065 4931 |
| Island Coast Liquid Waste | 07 4068 9042 |
| NQ Resource Recovery | 07 4055 1702 |
| D & R Lavis | 07 4036 1241 |
Grease trap waste
| Grease Trap Services | 07 4064 2498 |
| Peterson's Waste | 07 4065 4931 |
| Island Coast Liquid Waste | 07 4068 9042 |
Oily wastes
| NQ Resource Recovery | 07 4055 1702 |
| Alan Rowe Plumbing | 0412 713 837 |
How to get in touch with a Cassowary Coast tradewaste officer
Phone: (07) 4030 2209 or 1300 763 903
Mobile: 0447 794 153
Email: les.smith@ccrc.qld.gov.au
Download links:
Application for a Permit to Discharge Trade Waste (Commercial Liquid Waste) into Council's Sewer
Form 1 - Compliance assessment application for plumbing, drainage and on-site sewerage work
Tradewaste Environmental Management Plan
Typical Greasetrap Service Frequency Table
Pre-treatment Guidelines for Tradewaste Discharges
Factsheet