Draft bylaw to protect the environment

Better protection for the environment and public health are the goals of a draft bylaw which opened for public consultation today.

Hamilton City Council has approved that the draft Trade Waste and Wastewater Bylaw 2016, which will replace the city’s Trade Waste Bylaw 2006, be adopted for public engagement.

Submissions can be made on the draft bylaw before 1 May, and there will be a public information day on Tuesday 22 March, between 4pm and 7pm, at the Municipal Building in Garden Place. Councillor Leo Tooman has been appointed by the Council’s Strategy and Policy Committee to hear verbal feedback on the draft bylaw at the information day.

Trade waste refers to chemicals, oils or greases and other potential contaminants which can be produced as a result of industrial or commercial processes. If it is allowed to flow into the wastewater system it could have effects on the environment or on public health, as well as causing issues with the city’s wastewater treatment network.

Hamilton’s wastewater, after a treatment process, is discharged into the Waikato River, so it is important to manage any unsuitable waste which has the potential to enter the network.


Photo courtesy of Hamilton City Council

The new bylaw sets out what is and is not allowed into the city’s wastewater, gives clarity on everyone’s responsibilities in using the wastewater system, and provides clear direction to trade waste consent holders and tankered-waste operators on how they will need to manage any discharges to the system.

“As Hamilton grows, we can anticipate an increase in economic growth, which means an increase in waste from those business activities. This new bylaw is about ensuring we have the management tools in place to look after future generations in our city,” says the Council’s City Waters Manager Andrew Parsons.

The new bylaw will not change the Council’s fees and charges, as these are set separately.

Further information on the bylaw and feedback forms are available at www.hamilton.govt.nz/tradewastebylaw