Wastewater produced by commercial operators is being looked at in depth by QLDC to ensure it meets the required standards before it enters our wastewater system.

The Council consulted on its new Trade Waste Bylaw last year and has begun an education and awareness programme with businesses to help them understand their responsibilities.

The Queenstown Lakes District’s infrastructure is currently struggling to keep up with the volume and content of trade waste being discharged. High levels of contaminants such as fat, oil, grease and grit can cause blockages, sewage overflows, and are generally bad for the environment.

Implementation will begin with a survey that will be taken to local businesses that QLDC Trade Waste Officer Janine Cole has identified as likely to produce trade waste. This will be used to get an accurate idea of the level of waste being produced, and how best to help businesses improve their trade waste management, including treatment methods, disposal of trade waste at the source and a reduction in the risk of contaminants impacting upon the environment.

QLDC Chief Engineer, Ulrich Glasner says, ‘many of the issues QLDC contractors encounter due to trade waste could be avoided with better treatment processes at the source, and we believe these costs should be met by the businesses discharging the wastes, and not the ratepayer.’

‘The Trade Waste Bylaw gives the Council the authority to require businesses and industries to keep the most problematic contaminants out of the wastewater system.’

Janine Cole will begin site visits by the middle of this month and says she is looking forward to meeting the businesses she will be dealing with on a regular basis.

Trade Waste categories:

Trade Waste discharged from businesses may require a Trade Waste Consent from the Council depending on what it contains. For example:

• Permitted Trade Waste is trade waste that is similar in character to domestic wastewater (the type of discharge that comes from household kitchens, bathrooms and laundries.)

• Conditional Trade Waste is trade waste which has or is likely to have no prohibited characteristics but may have higher levels of substances which the Bylaw identifies as problematic. For example, the discharge from a food premises could potentially contain high levels of fat but the amount entering the sewer can be reduced by installing and maintaining a grease trap to capture these fats.

• Prohibited Trade Waste is trade waste likely to have a significant adverse effect on the public wastewater network and the environment.

ENDS

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