In your business

Greasy waste and grease traps

Business activities involving processes connected with food preparation generate wastewater containing fats, oils and greases (FOG's). Cleaning of preparation equipment, cookware, surfaces, utensils, floor areas, tableware and cutlery are all sources of greasy waste. Greasy waste tends to solidify when discharged to sewer. Over time, accumulation of solidified FOG's causes blockages within the sewer network.

Blockages subsequently lead to environmental spills, service disruption and customer inconvenience.

Yarra Valley Water trade waste requirements

Yarra Valley Water requires that all businesses not exempted as detailed below meet the following criteria

The business will require a Trade Waste Agreement or Consent to discharge into Yarra Valley Water's sewer.
The business must install an approved adequately sized grease interceptor or recovery device. Minimum sizing criteria is detailed below.

Click here for Yarra Valley Water's standard drawings for grease interceptor installations.

Your responsibilities

It is essential that all businesses clean and maintain their grease interceptor or recovery device to ensure it is kept in good working order. This includes the requirement to have the grease interceptor pumped out by an EPA licensed waste transporter. A list of waste transporters can be located on the EPA website searching on category K - Putrescrible / Organic Wastes and waste type K120 - Grease interceptor waste-industrial. Alternatively, transporters can be identified by a search in the yellow pages for grease trap cleaning services.

As a general rule, 'pump outs' shall occur every three months but may vary depending on the size of the interceptor and amount of greasy waste generated. Duration between 'pump outs' shouldn't exceed the period taken for the captured FOG's to occupy 25% of the interceptor's capacity. You should keep any cleaning and maintenance certificates or records and provide these to Yarra Valley Water upon request.

Business categories and sizing criteria

This is the minimum sizing requirements of grease interceptor apparatus for particular business categories. Grease recovery devices based on new technology can be accepted for use on an individual basis only. These new grease recovery units shall be sized to the equivalent size requirements of a grease interceptor. Any agreement to apply smaller sized apparatus to these standards requires approval of the Trade Waste Manager.

Major and franchised fast food outlets
Large stand alone fast food premises (eg. McDonalds, KFC etc) requires a grease trap with a minimum 2,000 litre capacity.

Similar fast food outlets located in conjunction with a service station are to be a minimum of 1,100 litre capacity.

Premises with eat in seating
The businesses in this group include but are not limited to the following businesses;

Restaurants/cafes
Hotels
Reception centres
Canteens
Club (sporting and entertainment)

The following table provides the minimum size requirements for a grease interceptor at all premises with eat in seating.

Seating capacity	Minimum grease interceptor size
Up to 20 persons	600L (excluding the use of a water wok)
21 to 70 persons	1100L
71 to 200 persons	2000L
201 to 500 persons	3000L
501 to 800 persons	4000L
801 to 1000 persons	5000L

Take away shops
All take away food premises are required to install a grease interceptor with a minimum size of 600 litres. These businesses include but are not limited to the following businesses;

General take away food shops e.g. hot chickens, pizza, fish and chips, hamburgers, kebabs, chinese, subway, sushi
Hot bread shops or bakeries
Cake shops (with on-site baking)
Delicatessen (with hot chicken cooker / oven)

Fresh meat and poultry sales
Even if no cooking of food is undertaken, the following businesses are also required to install a minimum size interceptor of 600 litre capacity;

Butchers
Fresh poultry sales

Industrial food processing or manufacturing
Any food processing or manufacturing facility that processes food to on sell to the retail market is required to make a trade waste application. Sizing of the grease interceptor will be based on the individual merits of the application.

Exemptions

The following types of businesses are exempt from the requirement for a Trade Waste Consent and/or a Grease Interceptor. However, due to the changing nature of businesses these exemptions must be re-assessed upon changes to business activities or product types.

Exemption from the requirement for a grease interceptor
The following businesses will not require installation of a grease interceptor but will require a Trade Waste Consent;

Ice cream parlour with no ice cream manufacturing onsite
Small 'chocolate only' production shops
Fresh fish sales
Yoghurt/smoothie/juice bar

Please note
A common misconception is that trade waste is only generated from businesses that cook food on site however trade waste is generated from the washing of utensils, trays, cutlery, containers etc associated with the handling, preparation and/or serving of food.

Exemptions will only be considered where council have issued a food license approving pre-packaged foods on site. A pre-packaged food license does not permit the handling of open foods thus eliminating the need for washing utensils, trays, cutlery, containers, etc associated with the handling, preparation and/or serving of food.

An exemption will only be considered upon written request and where it can be demonstrated that a food business has been issued with a pre-packaged food license. The written request must detail the exact processes to be undertaken on site and the reasons why an exemption should be issued.

Exemptions will not be issued where the washing of utensils, trays cutlery, containers etc associated with the handling, preparation and/or serving of food is undertaken.

Exemption from the requirement for a Trade Waste Consent and Grease Interceptor
The following businesses will not need to install a grease interceptor or require a Trade Waste Consent;