What is Liquid Trade Waste?
Liquid Trade Waste is any discharge to sewerage system other than domestic liquid waste from a hand wash basin*, residential sink, shower, bath or toilet.
*Wash hand basins must only be used in for personal hygiene only.
Liquid Trade Waste regulation is essential for:
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Protecting sewerage infrastructure such as sewer mains and pumping stations and sewage treatment works.
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Protecting our environment – some substances pass through the system unchanged and accumulate in the environment thereby contaminating the food chain. Other substances may adversely affect the biological processes and the quality of the treated effluent and bio solids.
- Protecting public and worker health and safety. The public and people working in and around the sewerage system can be harmed if toxic substances are discharged to the sewer. Unmanaged Liquid Trade Waste can affect the pH reading of the sewer system. This causes the release of Hydrogen Sulphide when pH is low and ammonia when the pH is high.
Under section 120 (1) of the POEO Act, a person who pollutes any waters including Council’s sewerage system is guilty of an offence. Pollution of Council’s sewerage system occurs when a discharge into Council’s sewer does not have approval or fails to comply with the conditions of approval. It is also an offense to not have an approval to discharge to sewer or failure to comply with the conditions of approval under Section 68 of the Local Government Act 1993.