Public called to weigh in on trade waste bylaw

The public can have a say over the next two months on the South Taranaki District Council's proposed trade waste bylaw which started this week.

The bylaw is about providing information of the costs connected with the treatment of strong discharge fluids into the sewage system.

The council's group manager of engineering services, Brent Manning, said the trade waste bylaw would provide certainty of cost, conditions for connecting and the acceptability of discharge for businesses and households into the future.

"In particular, the proposed bylaw will improve the management and protection of our public wastewater system and more fairly distribute the cost of treating trade waste," he said.

"It will also put us in a better position to protect our community and the environment from the adverse effects of harmful substances being discharged into the wastewater system."

The proposed trade waste bylaw will include:

-Licensing all premises which discharge trade waste to the council system to one of four categories: permitted, controlled, conditional and prohibited.

-Introduction of an annual $130 fee for premises in the controlled and conditional categories.

-Employing a trade waste officer to undertake monitoring and enforcement.

-Stricter conditions/penalties for premises which don't comply.

Mr Manning says the council has individual trade waste agreements with five of the six major wet industries in South Taranaki including Fonterra, Silver Fern, Riverlands and Yarrow.