Trade Effluent

Trade Effluent
What is trade effluent?
Trade effluent is any effluent (liquid waste) that is discharged from any premises being used for carrying on a trade or industry. Any liquid, with or without suspended particles, which is wholly/partially produced in the course of any trade or industrial activity carried out at “trade premises” will be classed as trade effluent. The only effluents which are not classed as Trade Effluent are clean, uncontaminated surface water (i.e. clean rainwater which has not been contaminated when running over your site) and domestic sewage.

Trade effluent can include:
  • waste chemicals, including oils

  • liquid process wastes,

  • detergents,

  • condensate water from compressed air installations,

  • cooling water,

  • biodegradable liquids,

  • wash water,

  • liquid wastes or wash waters, other than domestic sewage, discharged using sinks, basins or toilets, and

  • contaminated mine or quarry water


    • Does this apply to me?
    Trade effluents can be discharged either to foul sewers, or to surface waters or ground waters.

    This guideline applies to you if you discharge, intend to discharge or have the potential to discharge any effluent, other than domestic sewage or clean, uncontaminated surface water, from a trade or industrial premises into a foul sewer.

    If you discharge or have the potential to discharge any effluents into surface waters or ground waters, you should refer to the Pollution of Surface Waters and Ground Waters Management Guideline.

    Pollution of Surface Waters and Groundwater

    Why must trade effluent to foul sewer be controlled?
    The majority of foul sewers carry sewage to sewage treatment works. The sewage treatment works treat the sewage to improve its quality so that it can then be discharged to rivers, land or the sea. The sewage is usually treated biologically, which means that the sewage is broken down by micro-organisms.

    If unconsented discharges of trade effluent are made to a foul sewer, the effluents discharged may damage the sewers, generate a health hazard for sewerage workers or the general public, or inhibit or kill the micro-organisms which carry out the sewage treatment process. This can result in the sewage not being treated properly, which may lead to poor quality or even raw sewage being discharged to rivers, land or the sea.

    What do I need to do?
    You always need to obtain permission from your Statutory Sewerage Undertaker in the form of a Trade Effluent Consent or Trade Effluent Agreement before you do any of the following:

  • Discharge or permit the discharge into a foul sewer of any trade effluent.

    If your business already discharges any quantity of trade effluent to foul sewer, no matter how small, and does not have written consent or agreement to do so, you should stop the discharge immediately and contact the sewerage undertaker to discuss the best way forward.

    Even if you already have a consent or agreement, you need to get a new consent if your discharge changes and no longer complies with the consented conditions, or if a discharge has been discontinued for two years or more and then resumed.


  • Discharge any surface water run-off from hard surfaces contaminated with oil, such as car parks or maintenance bays, to foul sewer.


  • Wash substances such as oils, solvents, chemicals, adhesives, inks or powders into a foul sewer.


  • Use a sink, basin, toilet or gully for disposing of any liquid wastes, apart from domestic sewage, or discharging wash waters.


    • Some effluents will also be subject to prior authorisation by the Environmental Regulator e.g. effluents from installations subject to control under the PPC regime and certain effluents containing dangerous substances. The Environmental RegulatorÂ’s requirements may differ to those of the sewerage undertaker. The most stringent limits of either Regulator will always apply.

    What do I do with effluents which I am not permitted to discharge to foul sewer?
    Any effluents that the Sewerage Undertaker will not permit you to discharge to the foul sewer will be classed as Waste or Hazardous/Special Waste. Wastes must be handled and disposed of according to the Environmental Protection (Duty of Care) Regulations (or the Controlled Waste (Duty of Care) Regulations Northern Ireland 2002):

  • All wastes must be handled in accordance with the Duty of Care. This requires that you ensure all waste is handled, recovered or disposed of responsibly, that it is only handled, recovered or disposed of by individuals or companies that are authorised to deal with it and that a record is kept of all wastes received or transferred through a system of signed Waste Transfer Notes.


  • If the material that you are disposing of has hazardous properties, it may need to be dealt with as Hazardous/Special Waste. There are additional requirements to the Duty of Care when handling Hazardous/Special Waste.
    See the Duty of Care, Waste Management Licensing and Hazardous/Special Waste Management Guidelines for further information.


    • Hazardous/Special Waste

    How can I minimise unconsented discharges to foul sewer?
    You must have permission from your Sewerage Undertaker before you make any trade effluent discharges to foul sewer. The following measures will help you to minimise the chances of making any discharges accidentally.

  • Make sure you have an up to date and accurate drainage plan available at all times. This will identify the locations of all existing drains and sewers in and around your site, and where they lead. When making a discharge to a drain or sewer, always check that you are connecting to the correct system – all trade effluent and sewage to the foul sewer; only clean uncontaminated surface water should be discharged to the surface water drainage system.


  • Paint drainage system manhole covers, gullies and grills on site in a recognised colour coding system (blue for surface water drains and red for foul water drains). This will help you to identify where any discharge or spillage will end up.


  • Store and handle raw materials, wastes, chemicals and fuels in a responsible way, so that they cannot enter the surface and foul drains on your site.


  • Provide commercial spill kits or absorbent granules/sawdust where spills or leaks of pollutants could occur and find their way into a drain or sewer. Make sure your staff know where they are and how to use them.


  • Surround foul drain entry points with an impervious upstand if they may be vulnerable to receiving polluted effluents (including contaminated surface water) that have not received consent/agreement from the Sewerage Undertaker.


  • Make all relevant employees and contractors aware of your procedures for handling, disposing and discharging liquid wastes. Make sure they comply with them.


  • Explore the possibilities for using alternative materials and practices that do not produce effluents e.g. reuse of water for a lower grade purpose such as non-critical rinsing.


    • If there is a pollution incident affecting a foul sewer, you must immediately telephone the pollution incident hotline on 0800 80 70 60 and also inform your Sewerage Undertaker's trade effluent officer.

    Further guidance on minimising risks can be found in the Management Guideline on Pollution of Surface Waters and Ground Waters.

    Pollution of Surface Waters and Groundwater

    IMPORTANT LEGAL NOTE
    NetRegs contains simplified guidance based on complex and changing legislation, and does not constitute legal advice. Whilst we endeavour to keep it up to date, we cannot be held liable for errors and omissions; compliance with the law remains the user's responsibility. If you have concerns over compliance, you must seek professional advice, or contact your regulator or local authority.

    The Data has not been prepared to meet your or anyone else's individual requirements so it is your responsibility to ensure that the Data meets your needs

    We cannot ensure and therefore give no promise that the Data on this web site will always be accurate, complete, up to date or valid but we will use reasonable care to ensure that it is an accurate copy of the Data

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