Restaurant Bins and Grease Trap Compliance: What You Book, What Needs a Licensed Service

A restaurant's waste compliance splits into two separate jobs. The bins out the back are commercial waste collection: you can book those through Bin Hire Australia and a vetted local provider services them weekly and invoices you directly. The grease trap under your sink is trade waste: it sits under an agreement with your water utility and must be pumped out by a licensed liquid waste operator. No bin company empties a grease trap, and anyone who bundles the two into one vague pitch is blurring your compliance obligations.

This guide covers both, separately, the way your obligations actually work.

The bins: what a restaurant can book

General waste wheelie bins in 240L, 660L and 1100L are bookable in every metro area covered. Depending on your city, separated streams are available too: commingled recycling and food organics in Sydney and Wollongong, recycling, cardboard and organics in Adelaide, recycling and cardboard in Melbourne, and recycling plus a greens/garden organics stream in Perth. Brisbane, Hobart and Canberra currently run general waste only through the platform, with front-lift sizes also available in South East Queensland.

Weekly collection is the standard cadence, and your exact schedule is confirmed in the quote. The practical sizing rule for kitchens: food waste is dense and wet, so a 240L general bin fills faster and gets heavier than most owners expect. Busy venues almost always do better on a 660L. The full sizing logic is in the bin size guide by industry.

If your venue is in New South Wales, food organics separation is no longer optional at the top end. Since 1 July 2026, NSW food businesses producing around 3,960 litres or more of general waste a week must separate food organics under the FOGO Recycling Act, with smaller venues phased in from 2028 and 2030. The detail is in the NSW food waste mandate guide.

The grease trap: a utility obligation, not a bin service

Every commercial kitchen that discharges fats, oils and grease to the sewer needs a grease trap (grease arrestor) under a trade waste agreement with the local water utility: Sydney Water in Sydney, Greater Western Water or Yarra Valley Water in Melbourne, Urban Utilities in Brisbane, and their equivalents elsewhere.

Three things matter:

1. The utility sets your pump-out frequency. It is written into your trade waste agreement and depends on trap size and kitchen volume. Most venues sit somewhere between monthly and quarterly. It is not something you choose to skip in a quiet month.
2. Only a licensed liquid waste operator can do the pump-out. They issue dockets or manifests each visit.
3. Keep the paperwork. Health and trade waste inspectors ask for the pump-out log and recent manifests. Keep at least two to three years of records, and pin the schedule near the trap so staff know when the truck is due.

Signs you need a pump-out before the scheduled date: slow drains in the dishwash area, odour near the trap, or visible surface grease. A blocked trap during service costs far more than an early visit.

Keeping the two systems apart in daily operation

Most grease trap problems start at the sink, and most bin problems start at the trap:

• No oil down sinks. Used cooking oil goes to an oil recycler, not the sink, not the general bin. Strainers in every sink, pans wiped before washing.
• No liquids in the bins. A leaking bin is a health inspection problem and adds weight. Drain before you bin.
• Food scraps go to organics where you have the stream. Separating organics pulls the heaviest, smelliest material out of general waste. See the organics bin guide for hospitality.
• Keep the bin bay clear on collection day and the trap accessible on pump-out day. Blocked access is the most common cause of missed services for both.

What inspectors actually look at

• A current trade waste agreement and pump-out history for the trap.
• Clean, lidded bins with nothing leaking and nothing stored uncovered.
• Food waste not accumulating outside the bins.
• Separation between food prep areas and waste storage.

None of it is hard if the setup is right-sized. If bins overflow before collection day, the fix is a bigger bin or an extra bin, sized once, properly. Enter your address and venue type in the quote flow and you get the exact per-collection price for your kitchen in about two minutes, with the schedule confirmed before you book. The grease trap side stays with your utility and a licensed operator: budget for it separately, and never let anyone tell you a bin service covers it.