Trade Waste Project 2021

Key Change

Reason for the Change

1. Inclusion of an introductory note including the Overarching Purpose, Objectives and Context of the new Bylaw

To set the scene for a holistic and integrated approach to all three of Council’s Water Services and meet Councils District Plan, Policies and Strategies

1. Format of the bylaw such as removing unnecessary headings, amending some of the language used in clauses and moving, condensing or deleting some clauses within the bylaw.

To improve readability and flow of the document by removing any duplication within the bylaw and with the Local Government Act and clarifying the intent of the bylaw. Some clauses have been removed and will be included in a guidance note to support the bylaw.  The application forms have also been removed and will sit on Council’s website.

1. The definition of trade waste has been clarified.

To simplify and clarify what is a trade waste.

1. Clarification around how the trade waste discharges will be classified, when an application is required, the application and decision-making process and the criteria that will be used.

The classifications and process are not clear.  There are some businesses that are discharging trade waste into the wastewater system and Council is not able to monitor the loads and discharge volumes that are affecting the wastewater treatment plants as Council does not have a record of these dischargers. This means there is a larger flow and load of waste going into the system than what the wastewater treatment plant has been designed to manage.

Clauses have also been amended and new clauses included for each of the trade waste discharge classifications to provide more clarity around how these will be classified by Council.  Some clauses within the bylaw were contradictory and therefore needed to be reviewed to clarify the intent. Such as if permitted then a consent is not required however, Council would like to keep a register of these.

The bylaw was also unclear how tankered waste was being managed and this has also been clarified with a new conditions section specific to this activity.

1. The application, review and decision-making processes around trade waste discharges has been simplified.

The current wording was unclear and ambiguous around how these processes are intended to be undertaken.  The bylaw has been restructured and reworded to simplify and provide clarity. 

1. Sampling and monitoring clauses have been condensed and simplified.

Council needs to understand if the traders are discharging in an optimal way and will undertake audits against management plans to demonstrate compliance.  Wording in the bylaw has been amended to clarify this intent.

New clauses have been included to specify that the samples must be representative of the discharge to allow for variability of what it is discharging daily. Safe access to the site to monitor and obtain samples has also been included.

Wording in the bylaw has been updated to make the need for representative samples explicit, and the mass limits already in the bylaw can be utilised through Council processes.

1. The use of smart meters has been included

Smart meters on flow meters allows for the efficient collection of data from the flow meters, and improving the accuracy of the data by removing the opportunity for human error.

1. Warning Notices have been included

Warning Notices allow the ability for Council to notify the Consent Holder of a breach of the conditions of their consent, and to state the timeframes to rectify the issue. This will be undertaken following the issue of a notice of the intention to undertake a review and why it is necessary. Discussions with the Consent Holder will be part of the process in order to understand the nature of any breaches, and actions required to prevent further breaches.

A clause has been added to allow Council where Consent Holder actions are not sufficient following the issue of a Warning Notice, or three Warning Notices are issued in a 12 month period, the Consent to discharge can be cancelled.

1. A biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) limit has been included.

Currently there is no BOD limit, which means that a trader could discharge very strong waste in a small volume, and they would be considered permitted. The updated bylaw now includes a concentration limit.

1. New wording has been added in relation to pharmaceutical waste.

The Ministry of Health has been requesting Councils to add wording into trade waste bylaws to manage pharmaceutical waste.  This is to protect the downstream biological treatment systems and the discharge environment.

The specific reason cytotoxic waste is mentioned is because the advice in NZS 4304:2002 Management of healthcare waste is outdated and needs to be revised, and until it is the Ministry is managing the risk by requesting that local authorities prohibit its discharge.

1. The system of charging in respect of volume and strength of trade waste has been removed from the bylaw and will sit in Council’s guidance and/or strategy documents to be developed alongside this bylaw.

The Council is following a user pays and fair allocation of cost model going forward.

Council’s schedule of fees and charges includes trade waste charges and is reviewed annually.

The bylaw still includes a list of potential trade waste charges that can be implemented by Council.  How these charges are calculated best sits outside of the bylaw such as capital contributions and annual charges.  These can then be reviewed in line with Council’s annual fees and charges process.

A capital contribution calculator is being developed to determine the level of recovery for capital upgrades relevant to the upgrade, this is in addition to the operational recovery, which remains as set out in fees and charges.