The Sewers By-law requires that food service establishments maintain and repair grease interceptors (or grease traps) so that they are always in working order. Maintenance (or servicing) includes regularly cleaning the grease interceptor and inspecting its components.
Regular servicing can prevent excessive odours, attraction of pests (such as rats and cockroaches) and blockages in drainage lines. This can help you save on maintenance and repair costs.
Proper servicing consists of removing the entire content of the grease interceptor, thoroughly cleaning it and inspecting its components.
The City may permit a longer servicing frequency than noted in the table below (up to eight weeks) if your food service establishment provides records showing that the grease and solids (combined) reach less than 25 per cent of the interceptor’s liquid volume within the first four weeks.
| Device Type | Servicing Frequency |
|---|---|
| Hydro-mechanical grease interceptor (grease trap) | Grease interceptors must be serviced as follows, whichever happens first (unless the City permits a different servicing frequency):
|
| Solids interceptor (with built-in container to collect solids) |
|
| Grease recovery device |
|
| Gravity grease interceptor |
|
Food service establishments can only service their own grease interceptors if they:
To manually service grease interceptors, your food service establishment must:
Otherwise, servicing must be completed by a professional waste carrier approved by the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks.
Food service establishments must keep servicing records on-site as proof of maintenance for the City to review upon request.
Do not use chemicals or other agents to help fats, oils and grease pass through a grease interceptor or gravity grease interceptor, including:
These products only break up fats, oils and grease temporarily. The fats, oils and grease may harden again further down the plumbing system, which can block drains and damage the City’s sewer system.
Bleach can also break down into chloroform, which creates a health hazard for City staff working in the sewer system.
Your food service establishment must properly dispose of fats, oils and grease collected from a grease interceptor (and gravity grease interceptor, if applicable).
If manually servicing your grease interceptor, your food service establishment should:
Otherwise, your food service establishment must have a Ministry-approved waste carrier transport all grease interceptor waste for disposal.
Owners and operators must keep and maintain accurate and up-to-date records of grease interceptor servicing and off-site disposal of fats, oils, grease and wastewater. The records must be kept at the food service establishment for review upon request by the City. Each of these records must be kept for at least seven years.
Servicing records may include service contracts, receipts or invoices. Food service establishments that manually service their grease interceptors must always keep maintenance logs on-site.
After professional servicing from a waste carrier approved by the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks, the waste carrier should provide you with a receipt or invoice with the following information:
Disposal records must contain the following information: