Trade Waste Discharge Consent

Accommodation facilities include hotels, motels, backpackers, bed and breakfasts, etc.

Animal management includes vets, animal groomers and animal kennels, etc.

This includes automotive workshops, radiator repair workshops, boat maintenance or repair shops, automotive valet services, equipment hire/maintenance premises such as bike shops, motorbike shops, lawnmower/small plant hire or repair, any spray-painting businesses, etc.

This includes any campground that provides kitchen facilities, bathroom facilities, dump station and/or laundry services.

This includes any premises that provides services such as carpet cleaning services, bin cleaning services or any commercial cleaners, etc.

This includes buildings that have been built for community or public use.  For example, churches or any other place of worship, Maraes, art centres, town halls/ community centres, any conference centre or any commercial or community-based facility. These buildings may or may not have a commercial kitchen. 

This includes any premise where concrete is formed.

This includes food premises such as bakeries, cafes, takeaways, restaurants, bars, butchers, ice cream parlours, supermarkets or beverage businesses such as wineries, breweries, or distilleries, etc.

This includes commercial laundries, self-service laundries or dry cleaners.

This includes any medical facility such as hospitals, medical centres, dentists, x-ray clinics, pharmacies/chemists, or laboratories.

This includes retirement villages with hospital facilities, laundry services, or shared kitchens on site.

This includes pre-schools, kindergartens, primary schools, high schools, day-care centres, etc.

This includes any commercial/trade swimming or spa pool facility

This includes landfill facilities, transfer stations/recycling centres, septic tank operators and other businesses that tanker liquid waste.

Premises that may fall into this category can include mobile facilities (food/beverage, animal groomers, hairdressers etc), airports, textile manufacturers, ice skating rinks, jewellery making facilities, etc.

If you have any questions whether your business should fall into this category that is not listed anywhere, you can find some email us at:
trade.waste@qldc.govt.nz

If your trade premise discharges more than 2000L/day, then your business would likely fall under the Conditional Consent category. Conditional trade waste is trade waste that does not comply with one or more of the physical and chemical characteristics set out in Schedule A of the Administration Manual and/or has a maximum volume of more than 2000L/day.

Where a trade premise’s wastewater discharge includes, or is likely to include fats, grease, or oils (FOG) more than 100 grams per 1000 litres/day, a grease trap must be installed.

The occupiers must maintain and use the grease trap to a level that ensures the discharge complies with the limit for fats, oil, and grease, as set out in the Bylaw and Part E if the Administration Manual.

• Grease traps come in a range of types and sizes. Passive grease traps are most commonly found outside rather than underneath the kitchen sink. Passive grease traps have a series of compartments that are separated by baffles, the wastewater flows through the compartments, which slow down the flow and cool it down. This allows the FOG to float to the top of the trap, the food solids to float to the bottom and the free-flowing wastewater passes through to the outlet.

• Mechanical grease traps are usually installed under a sink. Wastewater flows into the trap through a filter, which removes any solids. The FOG builds up at the top of the system, but instead of it being manually cleaned out, there is a mechanical system that automatically removes the FOG into a container. The filter needs to be continuously cleaned to ensure wastewater can freely flow through.

• Grease converters are less common. They have an automatic dosing pump, which pumps a set amount of enzyme (or equivalent) into the tank and breaks down the FOG before the wastewater is discharged into the Council wastewater network. Enzymes can be easily affected from substances, such as food solids and chemicals from cleaning agents, which prevent the enzymes from breaking down the FOG.

No matter the type of grease trap your trade premise has, if requested you will be required to show the inspector the maintenance and service history of your grease trap. All types of grease traps must be maintained to the manufacturer’s instructions and guidelines. 

As part of the Trade Waste Agreement process, you may be requested to supply a Stormwater and/or Trade Waste Management Plan. Once these plans are accepted by Council, you will have to adopt the principles and procedures that you detailed in the plan.

A Trade Waste Management Plan can include the type of waste being discharged, the pre-treatment being used, the maintenance plans in place to ensure the pre-treatment is working correctly and the procedures in place to ensure that the discharge is within the limits specified under Schedule A of the Administration Manual. It can also include the methods in place to work towards cleaner production, the methods used to minimize all types of waste and any other innovative ways to reduce water usage.

A Stormwater Management Plan can outline the methods and procedures to protect Council’s Stormwater network being contamination from trade premises. This can include a site drawing showing where the stormwater inlets are in comparison to any wastewater drains, site inspections of any potential contaminants, methods in place to contain these contaminants in the event of a spillage, spillage prevention and response procedures and any other methods to work towards cleaner production and waste minimization.

Your business may already have these plans in place, if not, email the Trade Waste team for an example template.  
trade.waste@qldc.govt.nz 

If there is a change to the type of trade, a change to business practices, a change in pre-treatment or any change that would affect your discharge after your agreement has been established, then you need to email us at and keep us informed. These changes could have an impact on the type of agreement you have.

trade.waste@qldc.govt.nz

If there are any changes to your business details, email us and let us know. That way we can update our details to ensure we are liaising with the correct people and to ensure we always have up to date records.

trade.waste@qldc.govt.nz 

Below is a table from the Administration Manual with guidelines of the different types of pre-treatment requirements and the risks that their discharge has on the wastewater network.

Since we do not have water meters in our district, we are required to make some assumptions. If your business is open for more than 10 hours/day, you are likely to discharge more than 2000L/day. Alternatively, if your accommodation premise can accommodate more than 8 persons/night, then you are likely to also discharge more than 2000L/day. These guidelines may not be a one size fits all scenario and trade waste team will be able to better advise you on this once the premise’s inspection has been completed. If your business is open less than 10 hours/day or accommodates less than 8 people, this does not mean you are exempt form applying for a trade waste consent.