Page 2 - Guide to Managing Trade Effluent - 2023

Table of Contents How Important is Your Effluent Treatment Plant?

A production or manufacturing company will often, mistakenly, prioritise the production and
manufacturing aspects of their business; less regard is paid to the treatment (processing) of their

How Important is Your Effluent Treatment Plant? effluent (liquid waste).
Yet the limiting factor in the ability of a company to increase production, further reduce costs or
Understanding Trade Effluent even to bring new product lines to the market may be the capability of the company to manage
its trade effluent. The effluent plant then becomes a bottle neck to increasing production.
What is Trade Effluent Made of? Frequently investment within a company’s effluent treatment system lags behind investment in
other parts of the business and only becomes an issue when there is a threat to the company’
Trade Effluent Cosent Conditions production capability.

An efficiently run business will take a holistic approach to its operations taking into account all
Calculating Effluent Charges of its inputs and outputs. Where possible a company should look to reduce both their inputs of
raw materials including energy, and water then look to minimize the amount of waste including
Drivers for Investing in Effluent Treatment effluent that they generate, where possible recycling (re-use) of waste products should be
undertaken.

Options for Cost Reduction
Understanding Trade Effluent
Planning for Changes to the Operating Process

Trade effluent is a liquid waste that is generated by the business activities that are been
Increasing Production Capacity conducted at the premises.

Treatment Solutions Typical Trade Effluent is discharged into the foul sewer, pre-treatment of the effluent to make it
suitable (safe) to discharge into a sewer may be required.
Effluent Management Support Services On occasions where discharge of the effluent into a foul sewer is not possible, the effluent may

with the permission of the Environmental Regulator (EA, NRW, SEPA), discharge the effluent directly
Spreading the Cost to water course in accordance with an Environmental Permit. Where discharge into a water
course is undertaken a much higher standard of treatment would be required.
Project Support
Only a small proportion of the trade effluent which is generated is discharged via this route, the
majority is discharged to foul sewer in accordance with a Trade Effluent Consent.

What is Trade Effluent

Made of?

Trade effluent is the liquid waste produced
by businesses; therefore the overall
composition will reflect the nature of
business activities undertaken within the
premises.

However, all Trade Effluents have broadly
speaking a similar composition
(See Figure 1).
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