Grease Trap Cleaning Tullamarine

Grease trap rules in Tullamarine

Tullamarine is split between two water authorities, so start by checking which one bills your site. The Department of Health’s list of water suppliers puts part of Tullamarine with the old City West Water, now Greater Western Water, and part with Yarra Valley Water. Your water bill settles it. The two authorities handle grease traps differently, and our grease trap cleaning Melbourne page compares them in full.

If your site is with Greater Western Water

Your trade waste agreement sets the pump-out interval, and GWW says three months is typical. GWW sizes traps mainly on hourly flow, which is why busy production sites end up with large units. It expects the trap to be accessible at all times, and it wants a record of each pump out. We notify GWW for you after every visit.

If your site is with Yarra Valley Water

Under Yarra Valley Water’s rules, any food business that produces trade waste needs a grease trap, and the pump out can only be done by an EPA approved transporter. Your agreement sets the interval and is reviewed at renewal, so a new product line or extra shift can mean a bigger trap or more visits. Keep our certificates on file, because YVW inspectors can ask to see your receipts.

Hume council’s rules

Most of Tullamarine is in Hume City, with edges in Brimbank and Merri-bek. Hume’s guide for food businesses says a grease trap must not sit anywhere food, equipment or packaging is handled or stored. Access for emptying it shouldn’t pass through those areas either. That matters when you plan a new production layout.

Who we service in Tullamarine

Our Tullamarine work is mostly industrial food kitchens rather than shopfronts.

• Food manufacturers and processors with constant wash-down
• Commercial catering kitchens preparing meals in bulk
• Warehouse and freight-site canteens feeding shift workers
• Childcare centres, schools and aged care homes in the residential streets
• Cafes and takeaways serving the estates at lunchtime

Residential grease traps in Tullamarine homes are covered too.

Keeping a 24/7 site running during a pump out

A pump out doesn’t have to stop production if it’s planned around your shift pattern. Most of the work happens outside the building, so the line can keep running while the truck works in the yard.

• Pick the lull. Tell us when flow to the trap is lowest, such as a shift change or a cleaning break, and we’ll book the visit then.
• Ease off the wash-down. Holding back large wash-down volumes for the half hour or so we’re pumping helps the trap empty fully.
• Keep the truck out of the way. With 50 metres of hose, the truck can park clear of forklift lanes and loading bays.
• Share your site rules. Let us know your sign-in, safety gear and traffic rules before the visit, and we’ll follow them.
• Come at night. For sites with no quiet daytime hours, we work overnight and at weekends.

Large in-ground interceptors

Industrial food sites often have in-ground interceptors that dwarf a cafe’s trap, and we can empty one of up to 12,000 litres in a single visit. A processing plant with constant wash-down sends a large volume of warm, fatty water to the trap every hour, and the trap has to be sized to match.

Big interceptors need a full clean-out, not a skim. We pump out the fat layer, the water and the settled solids on the floor, chamber by chamber.

Scheduled servicing and records

On an industrial site, the schedule usually follows the production calendar as closely as the agreement. We set the standing booking to your agreement, then add visits when production ramps up for a busy season or a new contract.

Grease trap waste is reportable priority waste under EPA Victoria rules, so it has to be tracked from your site to an authorised facility. The business producing the waste must pick a transporter allowed to carry that waste code, and Sims is EPA licensed to carry grease trap waste. GWW sites get our notice to GWW. Yarra Valley Water sites should keep our certificates ready for inspection.

What affects the cost

Interceptor capacity is the biggest single factor on an industrial job.

• Capacity in litres. A large in-ground interceptor takes longer to empty than a canteen trap.
• Thickness of the fat and solids. Heavy production loads build up quickly between visits.
• Hose run across the yard. Long runs past buildings or loading bays add setup time.
• The time window. Overnight and weekend visits cost more than weekday daytime work.
• More than one unit. Several interceptors, or a triple interceptor as well, can be done on one visit.

Signs an interceptor is overdue

Odour across the loading yard, wash-down drains running slowly or fat showing at the lid mean the interceptor needs pumping. Book it straight away rather than waiting for the scheduled date, because a large unit can push a lot of fat into the sewer once it’s full.

Freight yards with truck and forklift wash bays usually run triple interceptors. Those are covered too, because Sims is EPA licensed to carry triple interceptor waste, along with car and truck washwater.

For the retail side of the area, see grease trap cleaning in Airport West. Fringe properties still on septic are covered under septic tank cleaning in outer Melbourne.