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Last week, Castle Water’s Trade Effluent invoicing team embarked on a fascinating and highly educational visit to Thames Water’s trade effluent laboratory. The trip offered a unique opportunity for the team to witness first hand how one of the largest water suppliers in the UK manages and monitors trade effluent. This immersive experience helped deepen the team’s understanding of how laboratory testing and compliance work in real-world settings, further enhancing their expertise in the complex trade effluent sector.
At Castle Water, we pride ourselves on our expert knowledge of trade effluent. With a dedicated Trade Effluent team, we assist businesses in navigating the often-complex regulations surrounding trade effluent discharges, ensuring they stay compliant while minimising costs and environmental impact.
Exploring the Thames Water lab
The highlight of the visit was the in-depth tour of Thames Water’s trade effluent laboratory, where the team was given a comprehensive overview of how trade effluent discharge samples are tested. At the heart of this process is a cutting-edge plasma heater, a massive piece of equipment that burns the effluent sample at temperatures reaching an astonishing 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit. This extreme heat helps break down the sample, which is then analysed using high-tech cameras to identify its chemical composition.
This analysis plays a critical role in ensuring trade effluent customers remain compliant with their effluent consent agreements. These consents are legal documents that outline what can and cannot be discharged into the water system from industrial processes. By understanding this process, Castle Water’s team has further enhanced their ability to support customers, ensuring they meet stringent regulatory requirements.
Site visit to Johnson’s Workwear
Following the lab tour, the team visited Johnson’s Workwear, a major industrial laundry service. Here, they saw a live demonstration of a trade effluent sampling regime. This provided the team with invaluable insights into the on-site processes that precede laboratory testing, showing them how businesses collect samples, monitor effluent quality, and ensure compliance with consent limits.
Understanding trade effluent and its importance
Trade effluent is liquid waste generated by industrial or commercial processes that are discharged into the public sewer. It is subject to stringent regulations to ensure it doesn’t harm the environment or damage sewer infrastructure. Typical industries that produce trade effluent include engineering, food processing, chemical product manufacturing, and laundries—like Johnson’s Workwear—among others.
Castle Water’s dedicated team of experts works with you to understand your trade effluent management and requirements. We provide full-service support, including navigating consent and licensing applications, negotiating bespoke consent limits, and ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements. Our unique trade effluent billing platform also ensures your invoices are reliable and of the highest degree of accuracy. Additionally, we offer data reporting to help meet sustainability targets and provide expert guidance to help your business avoid legal risks associated with improper discharges.
