Grease Trap Waste Disposal Control

Oil and grease in wastewater arising from normal operations of restaurants and food processing factories will need to be separated out, commonly by means of grease traps, before the wastewater is discharged from the premises. The oil and grease intercepted by grease traps, usually known as grease trap waste, needs to be removed regularly in order to ensure the proper functioning of the grease traps. For details of the maintenance of grease trap, please refer to the booklet "Grease Traps for Restaurants and Food Processors".

For small grease traps (eg. those installed under individual sinks), the grease trap waste could be removed manually by scooping it into watertight plastic bags and disposed of together with other kitchen refuse. For large grease traps, the restaurants and food processing factories should employ reputable collectors to collect their grease trap waste for proper disposal. For reference of the trades and interested parties, a list of grease trap waste collectors can be found in the EPD website or EPD’s Green Restaurant website.

From 16 March 2009, the Interim Grease Trap Waste Treatment Facility at the West New Territories Landfill in Tuen Mun will be closed and replaced by a new Grease Trap Waste Treatment Facility (GTWTF) housed within the West Kowloon Transfer Station, Kowloon. Grease trap waste collectors are welcome to use the GTWTF now by filling the application form for registration purpose. An oily by-product, called "Lipofit" would be recovered from the grease trap waste. Lipofit can be reused as biodiesel, an additive to energetic resources or a raw material in other manufacturing processes.

The tenders invited by the GTWTF contractor for the purchase of Lipofit product was closed on 23 January 2009. Result will be announced in the coming months from the Lipofit website.