Pollution prevention on-site
Follow best practice advice for cleaning up your worksite and disposing of trade waste to help protect our waterways and avoid fines.
If trade waste, like chemicals, concrete wash and paint, is not dealt with correctly on your work site, it can flow untreated into our rivers and streams through roadside stormwater gutters and drains. Pollutants in our waterways can harm fish, eels, and other aquatic life.
Builders pocket guide
See our builders pocket guide on how to control and minimise your environmental impact when working on construction sites. To prevent pollution at work, it’s important to consider your site preparation, work practices and clean-up procedures.
Concrete wash guidance
Concrete wash water is water that has come into contact with fresh cement or concrete dust.
Diluting one litre of concrete wash water to a safe pH level would require around 100,000 litres of fresh water. Filtering also has no effect on the toxicity of concrete wash water.
You must control concrete water, when:
- concrete cutting
- water-based dust control on demolition sites
- wash down of completed driveways and walls, including exposed aggregate finishes
- wash down of concrete trucks, pumps, wheelbarrows, and tools.
Concrete wash must be controlled on-site
Managing concrete wash water
Identify where concrete wash water will flow and contain it. Ensure the wash water can’t reach a gutter, drain, river or stream.
1. Before pouring concrete
Place a sheet of polythene across the length of the work area with one edge inside the framing to form a seal.
2. After pouring concrete
Use sandbags, lengths of wood, or other material behind the polythene sheet (across the base of the work area) to form a sealed bund to collect all wastewater and sediment run-off.
3. Remove the wastewater
Choose the most appropriate option:
- Pump collected wastewater into an intermediate bulk container (IBC), or other large container, using a small bilge pump with a cloth filter. Any sediment/solids can be collected and returned to the concrete supplier or other approved disposal facility.
- Use the same polythene bund system to seal and contain wastewater. Use a sucker truck (vacuum tanker) to remove all of the waste collected. Ask for a waste receipt from any contractors used as you are liable for your waste.
- Alternatively, seal and bund the work area and remove wastewater using a wetvac. This is only suitable for very small amounts of wastewater (finishing cuts or similar).
- If no other option is available, very small amounts of run-off or tool wash water can be diverted to a grassed area, only if the area is not near any gutter, drain, river or stream.
Professional paint guidance
As a professional painter, you are responsible for ensuring that your trade waste is disposed of responsibly. Trade waste includes leftover paint and/or paint wash water.
If you discharge paint wash water onto the ground or into drains, gutters, or stormwater sumps, you could be fined or prosecuted by us.
There are two options to contain and dispose of paint wash water responsibly:
Paint and paint wash should be disposed of responsibly
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1. Dispose of paint wash water with a trade waste consent and contained wash system
- Trade waste consent/registration - all businesses that produce liquid trade waste and discharge it to the sewer system must apply for consent or registration to discharge. How much liquid waste you discharge per year will determine you are eligible for registration and whether you need consents. You can apply for a consent or registration through your city or district council. This consent will specify what pre-treatment is required, and how much you’re permitted to discharge.
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Contained wash systems - a commercial solution that contains and separates paint solids and paint wash water. Most paint manufacturers have their own systems that can be purchased or hired. You can assemble or build your own with purchased parts. With this system, you’ll need a trade waste consent to then discharge to sewerage.
Alternatively, a licensed waste removal contractor can dispose of your liquid waste.
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2. Trade waste removal or drop-off services:
- Removal services - some companies and contractors will remove liquid trade waste for you. You can arrange for a licensed liquid waste removal contractor to take away large amounts of paint wash water and dispose of it on your behalf. Get a receipt for the service to show that you have disposed of your liquid waste responsibly.
- Drop off cleaning services - some companies will remove excess paint from your brushes and rollers and clean your equipment. The advantage of this service is that you have no paint wash water to deal with.
- Drop-off centres - in some areas there are centres that allow painters to drop off their paint wash water and unused paint to ensure that it is disposed of correctly. Find your options and register your interest by getting in touch with your local transfer station, or paint supplier.
