Grease Trap Price 💧: One of the most common questions we hear when customers contact us asking to have their grease trap cleaned in 2024 are generally something like: “What is the price?” followed by “How much does it cost to clean a grease trap?” They also ask something like “Is that it, I mean are there any other costs involved?”

Let’s be honest, in the world of grease traps, people want a reliable, scheduled service done at a great price.

Mr Waster is pretty quick on the mark; he thinks you want to know how much the grease trap price is, right? As a result, in this blog, we will discuss the restaurant grease trap cleaning cost. Read on to learn more.

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>Download Now: Free PDF Business Owners’ Guide To Grease Trap Cleaning Services


 

Background on grease trap services for a small business in 2024

It is completely understandable why customers really only want to know the grease trap price. It is one of those necessary evils that you just want to be done cheaply, efficiently and reliably without impinging at all on the day to day running of your business. In many cases, people who run cafes and similar food service businesses (i.e. cafes, restaurants, take away shops, food factories etc.) often have never heard of a grease trap until they take over the business location.

Anyway, you are in luck as Waster offers exactly what you need. We offer low-cost/cheap, reliable and efficient grease trap cleaning. All our services are performed by fully licensed and regulated service teams and vehicles. So you can be assured that you will comply with all relevant water authority legislation.

I hear you shouting still “so, what is the grease trap price, Mr Waster? Enough already!”

We have covered in previous blogs on the subject of how easy it is to organise a grease trap service at a great, transparent price through our online model.

You can also read our blog providing answers to common, more technical questions (at least more technical than the ones above focusing on what does a grease trap service cost!) on grease trap cleaning.

 

Grease trap price: how much does it cost to clean it?

Waster practises a very easy to understand and simple pricing method for interceptor trap cleaning. In most regions, our service pricing is provided on a cent per litre basis (i.e., the quoted price per litre times the number of litres in your grease trap is the total price).

We provide flat pricing for commercial grease interceptors across metro regions as below:

 

Pricing

Canberra grease interceptor price: $320+GST for a 1000-litre grease interceptor

Newcastle and Central Coast grease interceptor price: $270+GST for a 1000-litre grease interceptor

Darwin grease interceptor price: $420+GST for a 1000-litre grease interceptor

Geelong grease interceptor price: $300+GST for a 1000-litre grease interceptor

Adelaide grease interceptor price: $230+GST for a 1000-litre grease interceptor

Hobart, Launceston, Devenport and Burnie grease interceptor price: $300+GST for a 1000-litre grease interceptor

Perth grease interceptor price: $230+GST for a 1000-litre grease interceptor

Melbourne grease interceptor price: $280+GST for a 1000-litre grease interceptor

Brisbane and Gold Coast grease interceptor price: $280+GST for a 1000-litre grease interceptor

Sydney grease interceptor price: $250+GST for a 1000-litre grease interceptor

 

We have a minimum trap size of 1000 litres for the grease trap cleaning price. This means that even if your trap is smaller than 1000 litres, you will be charged for 1000 litres; we implemented this to cover the call out time for the truck.

It is easy to book your service at a great grease trap price in our online waste shop. You can book reliable grease trap services for your location in all major cities across Australia including Canberra (ACT), Brisbane (Queensland), Gold Coast (Queensland), Newcastle (NSW), the Central Coast (NSW), Sydney (NSW), Wollongong (NSW), Darwin (Northern Territory), Adelaide (South Australia), Hobart (Tasmania), Launceston (Tasmania), Devenport (Tasmania), Burnie (Tasmania) and also Perth in Western Australia.

Please contact us for a restaurant grease interceptor price in other metro areas or check our online shop. Furthermore, note that if a restaurant grease interceptor is difficult to access (e.g., in an underground carpark or in a kitchen), different pricing may apply.

 

How often do I need to have grease trap cleaning done?

Depending on your business type, you may need to have your grease trap serviced between 6 (once every 2 months) and 12 (monthly) times a year. The relevant water authorities in your region mandate the frequency. See the info page at Sydney Water (covering metro Sydney) for coverage of this.

Authorities decide the schedule so you do not need to shop around for varying info.

If you have a 1500 or say 3000-litre trap, that amount will be collected when the trap is cleaned (i.e., a service will not clean a proportion of the grease trap). The water will be turned off and all the liquid in the trap will be pumped. The bottom and sides will then be scraped down and the water let refill the trap.

 

Additional info on Waster offers

Waster offers grease trap servicing on a simple pricing model; servicing is on a cent per litre basis. For example, in Sydney, servicing is performed at $0.25 per litre plus GST (as of February 2024). Minimum volumes of 1000 litres apply for this pricing (contact us if your grease trap volume is smaller than this). There are no additional charges.

Thus, if your business has a 3000-litre grease trap, the total price for a grease trap cleaning service would be $690.00 plus GST (i.e., 3000 times $0.21). There are no additional costs involved. If your business is scheduled to have collections 4 times a year (every 13 weeks), the annual cost would thus be $2,760.00 plus GST.

For larger trap sizes, contact us to discuss the best rate we can supply to you. This may be appropriate for large trap sizes of c. 5000 or 10000 litres.

 

A quick note

The schedule is set by the relevant water authority in your area such as Sydney Water, etc. Waster does not set or allocate a collection frequency for your grease trap. We comply with the schedule set by your local water authority.

 

grease trap cleaning price

 

You can check links to the relevant water and waste authorities such as EPAs etc in each State and Territory through our waste resources page.

If you are looking for an emergency trap service, we have published a recent article.

Note: All pricing quoted through our website or over the phone assumes grease trap is accessible by Tanker within 15m off Pitt or pump out point and involves one personnel member to perform service. More complex services will require specific pricing.

In Darwin, Northern Territory pricing is based on a rate of $0.35+GST per litre – with a minimum 1000 litres charge.

Perth, Western Australia pricing quoted is based on a rate of $0.19 per litre with a minimum of 1000 litres.

In Melbourne, Victoria, when customers sign up for grease trap cleaning, we require you to sign up for a minimum of 4 scheduled services of the trap.

 

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How do I lock in my grease trap price?

Once you have chosen your preferred grease trap service, booking the service is really easy. Simply book it through our online customer portal.

Once you have booked, a friendly member of our customer service team will be in contact with you to clarify your details and have the Change Of Transporter forms completed. A technical person may need to visit your location to perform a site inspection to inspect the location and grease trap etc. This is not required in 90% of instances.

Following this point, your forms will be submitted to the relevant water authority and the schedule will be set. You can then relax knowing that you will be in compliance with all legislation and environmental requirements for your business.

We suggest you check out our pricing today so you can start befitting from our excellent low-cost model. You should remember that as our contracts are based on flexible 30 days terms, you can leave us at any stage if you are unhappy for any reason. In the case of grease traps, if your service is due every 13 weeks, if you are unhappy with us after the first service, you can leave us prior to the second scheduled service. Of course, we are confident you will have a great experience with us.

 

What about a short notice or emergency services?

Emergency grease trap cleaning is significantly more expensive as other customers need to be rescheduled slightly to make room in a busy schedule to perform your service.

If you shop around in an emergency situation for grease trap cleaning services near you, keep in mind that a company will need to prioritise your site. As a result, they will potentially bump other sites to another day.

Most grease trap companies or contractors run pretty full timetables and schedules for existing customers. Also, most grease trap trucks will be fully booked for days or weeks in advance and an emergency pump out particularly if the trap is overflowing etc could take valuable hours from a trucks schedule.

Our advice is to always try to avoid an emergency grease traps service by ensuring your trap is serviced in line with requirements as this will save you significant money in the long run. Check out our blog on document disposal and how to protect your business.

Always avoid pouring oil or fat down the sink; save money by arranging a cooking oil recycling service for your business.

 

Grease trap price: a step-by-step process

With our commercial grease trap cleaning services, when a small customer signs up for regularly scheduled cleaning, we follow the process as below.

  • We will check with the local water authority as to the required cleaning schedule.
  • We will check on access conditions for the grease trap. Grease trap locations can be in a number of commonplaces. The most common location is outside at the back of the business location. However, grease traps can also be located inside buildings such as in underground car parks – and even in some instances, the kitchen area.
  • We will then check if keys or padlocks etc are required for access and provide these to the truck driver.
  • On the scheduled service day, the driver will go to the site and perform the commercial grease trap cleaning services. This service will involve opening the grease trap and pumping out all the liquid and grease in the pit. The technician will then scrape down the sides and bottom of the trap and remove any excess grease.
  • If appropriate, the driver will then scan the barcode or update the relevant water authority that they have performed the service as scheduled.

 

Booking grease trap cleaning

You can book grease trap cleaning in our online waste shop. You can book reliable grease trap services for your business in most metro regions across Australia including Canberra, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Newcastle, the Central Coast (NSW), grease trap Sydney, Wollongong, Darwin, Adelaide, Hobart, Launceston, Devenport, Burnie and last but not least Perth.

 

What can go wrong if grease interceptors are not cleaned?

Aside from discussing the grease trap price, we will also discuss what will go wrong when you do not avail of grease trap waste removal services.

Have you heard of a fatberg? It is a pretty unpleasant concept; basically, this equates to a big lump of grease.

We read an article about a fatberg recently that makes for scary reading. We quote from the article below:

“NI Water has said a “massive fatberg” in a Newry drain has taken them five hours to clear.

Commercial grease interceptor price

“The blockage, at Buttercrane Quay, was caused by fat, oil and grease mixing with rubbish such as baby wipes and sanitary items.

“NI Water said such blockages can cause out-of-sewer flooding, odour problems and rat infestations.

“Fat, oil and grease in its liquid form may not look harmful, but it becomes a major problem once in our drains, NI Water’s Jim McElrath said.

“Even when hot water or soap is poured down the sink – the fat, oil and grease will still harden. Detergents and bleach may also appear to work, but this is only temporary.”

 

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Other FAQs

Do they empty it all even if it is not that dirty?

This is a common question. The answer is that the entire pit is pumped out – the pit will start then with pure water. It is a misconception that only grease will be pumped out. The liquid is removed, which has varying quantities of grease and water in it.

 

Should we close business hours while the grease trap cleaning happens during office hours?

Generally, no. As long as the pit is easily accessible, you are not required to be on-site and grease trap cleaning in Melbourne can be done at night. This has the added benefit of not disrupting your business. See our blog on liquid waste removal.

 

Conclusion on grease trap price

Arranging your grease trap services is super easy with our low grease trap cleaning prices. Simply give us a call if you have any questions.

Whilst you are on our site, we also invite you to check out the other ways that Waster can save your business money through our services such as general waste, cheap cardboard recycling, commingled recycling, medical waste disposal, secure document shredding, sanitary bins and any other services.

Also, feel free to contact us via the red icon at the bottom right of every page on our website for questions. Or, you can visit our help centre to access comprehensive info on all our services. You can also check out our comprehensive overview of Sydney waste management.

If you have any questions on grease trap cleaning, you can check through our help centre or check any of our other blogs. Please call or email us if you have any questions and we will be pleased to help.

 

Download your guide to grease trap waste and organising your required services

Arranging regular grease interceptor services is one of those necessary evils in life like paying taxes. You need to be in line with your local water authority guidance (such as Sydney Water). We wrote our guide to provide free advice to business owners. This is also for managers who probably have not had much to do with grease trap waste in the past. They might want to avoid making costly mistakes as much as anything else, hence searching for this.

We state here an extract from the document on 4 common grease trap rip-offs:

 

RIP-OFF #1: UNBELIEVABLY LOW PRICE

To some degree, all of us are attracted by low price because we want to work within a budget. But, some grease trap companies use price as the bait for their false and misleading advertising. They offer a cheap price and then steadily increase prices over time. This can hurt you especially if you have signed a multi-year contract.

RIP-OFF #2: HIDDEN EXTRAS

Most grease trap cleaning is on a per litre basis. However, be careful that there are no additional fees such as transport costs, disposal costs or staff hours.

RIP-OFF #3: OVER SERVICING

This should not be too big an issue. In many areas, the local water authority sets the service schedule. However, if you are required to keep records of servicing, you should confirm with the water authority what the schedule is; the servicing can happen from 3 months or 6 months, so you have to confirm.

RIP-OFF #4: EXTRA LITRES

If a grease trap has, say, 1000 litres, the company you engage should pump out 1000 litres (this will be a mixture of water and grease). If the company has been sticking to the schedule, there should be no need for extra litres. Note: if the trap has not been cleaned for a long time, extra litres may be needed when the cleaner needs to add extra water to clean excessive grease.

 

Tips from City West Water

City West Water provides a number of tips and pointers for business owners to improve the effectiveness of their grease trap and minimise any issues. Here, we state the 8 tips mentioned by them:

Tip 1: Scrape leftover food from plates and cooking utensils and place it into the bin.

Tip 2: Dry wipe plates and utensils to remove excess grease before washing.

Up next, tip 3: Use only the amount of cooking oils and fats you need.

Tip 4: Collect and store all used cooking oils and fats for collection by recycling companies.

Another important reminder, tip 5: Sweep floors before washing down to avoid wastes being washed into the grease trap.

Tip 6: Mop floors instead of hosing down whenever practical.

Also, tip 7: Regularly clean sink strainers and put them back into the sink to prevent food particles from collecting in your grease trap.

Lastly, tip 8: Ensure you train all your kitchen staff on the correct disposal of fats and oil.

 

cleaning grease interceptor