How often does a grease trap need to be cleaned in Hamilton?

Hamilton Sewer Use Bylaw 14-090 uses a capacity-based trigger rather than a fixed calendar schedule. Your interceptor must be serviced before grease and solids reach 25% of the unit's liquid volume. For a high-volume commercial kitchen this typically means every four to eight weeks. A lower-volume operation such as a bakery or coffee shop may go longer between services. The accurate answer for your business requires a baseline inspection that measures your unit's current condition and your kitchen's daily FOG output.

Do you handle grease trap installation for a new restaurant build-out in Hamilton?

Yes. Greg's Plumbing sizes the interceptor to your fixture count and flow rate, pulls the necessary permits, and coordinates inspection sign-off with the City of Hamilton. If you are fitting out a new location or taking over a space where the existing unit does not meet current ASME A112.14.3-2022 and CSA B481 standards, we assess and replace it as part of the build-out scope.

Commercial Grease Trap Cleaning & Interceptor Service Hamilton

Hamilton’s Sewer Use Bylaw 14-090 requires every food service business to install and maintain a grease interceptor. Greg’s Plumbing keeps your trap clean, your kitchen running, and your business on the right side of the City’s enforcement unit.

Request a Commercial Quote Call 905-928-6831

Greg’s Plumbing and Heating technician standing beside service van

Grease Trap Services We Provide in Hamilton

Whether you need a first-time installation, a long-overdue clean-out, or an emergency call because a drain has stopped moving, one call gets you a licensed plumber, not a subcontractor.

Plumber cleaning an open commercial grease trap under a stainless kitchen sink

Grease Trap and Interceptor Cleaning

Hamilton Bylaw 14-090 requires pump-out before grease and solids reach 25% of the unit’s liquid volume. Most commercial kitchens hit that threshold faster than they expect. We clean the unit, record the date and volume removed, and give you the maintenance log your inspector will ask for. All waste is removed by a licensed hauler holding an Environmental Compliance Approval under Ontario Regulation 347.

Grease Interceptor Installation

If your building does not have an interceptor, or the existing unit does not meet current ASME A112.14.3-2022 and CSA B481 standards, we handle the full installation — sizing, permits, and inspection sign-off. We work in active commercial kitchens and know how to schedule installation to minimize downtime for your operation.

Plumber installing a commercial grease interceptor with PVC drain piping

Plumber working on an emergency commercial kitchen grease drain backup

Emergency Grease Drain Service

A backed-up kitchen drain is a health code problem, not just a plumbing problem. We respond to commercial drain emergencies across Hamilton including the Bayfront and North End industrial area, Stoney Creek Business Park, Ancaster Business Park, and Flamborough — and we carry parts for the most common commercial interceptor brands on every truck.

Inspection and Compliance Reporting

Not sure where your trap stands before a City inspection? We assess the unit’s condition, measure current grease and solids levels, check that the interceptor is correctly sized for your fixture flow rate, and provide a written compliance report you can keep on file.

Plumber checking commercial grease interceptor sizing and pipe connections

Hamilton Businesses That Need a Licensed Grease Trap Plumber

Every commercial kitchen in Hamilton that connects to the City’s sanitary sewer is subject to Bylaw 14-090 — and the City’s Environmental Monitoring and Enforcement unit does inspect.

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Restaurants and Diners

Full-service kitchens generate the heaviest FOG loads. We service traps at restaurants across Hamilton — from Ottawa Street and Locke Street to the Mountain and the East End.

Banquet Halls and Caterers

High-volume cooking events create irregular but intense grease loads. We schedule service around your event calendar so you are never caught short before an inspection.

Bakeries and Coffee Shops

Butter, cream, and pastry fats accumulate quickly in undersized traps. We assess your unit’s capacity relative to your actual flow rate and flag problems before the City does.

Grocery Stores with Food Counters

Deli counters, hot food stations, and in-store bakeries all fall under the bylaw. We handle multi-unit locations and coordinate service across your store’s plumbing stack.

Institutions with Commercial Kitchens

Schools, hospitals, long-term care facilities, and places of worship with industrial kitchens are specifically named under Ontario’s FOG rules. We understand institutional procurement and paperwork requirements.

Food Plazas and Multi-Tenant Buildings

Property managers overseeing plazas with multiple food tenants need a single point of contact who knows the City’s shared-interceptor rules. We work with landlords and tenants together.

Grease Trap Maintenance Plans for Hamilton Food Service Businesses

A one-time clean-out solves today’s problem. A maintenance plan keeps you compliant all year without having to remember to call.

Scheduled Service Reminders

We contact you before your next service is due — based on your kitchen’s actual volume and trap capacity, not a generic calendar. No guessing, no last-minute calls.

No Paperwork Chased

We keep your service history on file. If the City contacts you or a tenant needs documentation for a lease renewal or insurance review, we can pull your records the same day.

Certified Waste Disposal Included

Every pump-out is handled by a licensed hauler certified under Ontario Regulation 347. We coordinate disposal on your behalf and include confirmation in your service record.

Multi-Location Coordination

One account covers all your Hamilton-area sites. We schedule service across multiple locations and deliver a single set of records for the whole portfolio.

Priority Response for Contract Clients

Maintenance plan clients move to the front of the line for emergency drain calls. If your kitchen backs up mid-service, you are not treated as a new call — you are an existing account.

Written Compliance Records

You receive a signed maintenance log showing service date, technician name, grease and solids levels before pump-out, and waste volume removed.

What Hamilton’s Sewer Use Bylaw Actually Requires From Your Business

Most business owners know they need a grease trap. Fewer know exactly what the City can enforce and what triggers an inspection.

Measuring grease and solids inside a commercial grease trap before pump out

The 25% Rule

Hamilton Sewer Use Bylaw 14-090 requires that your grease interceptor be pumped out before grease and solids accumulate to 25% of the unit’s total liquid volume. There is no fixed monthly or quarterly schedule set by the City — the trigger is capacity-based. In a busy commercial kitchen, a standard indoor trap can reach that threshold in four to eight weeks. A large outdoor interceptor at a high-volume restaurant may get there faster than the owner expects. The only way to know where you stand is to open the unit and measure.

Who Enforces It and What They Check

The City’s Environmental Monitoring and Enforcement unit collects samples from commercial and industrial facilities that discharge to Hamilton’s sewage works. When an officer visits, they are checking whether a compliant interceptor is installed, whether it is correctly sized for your fixture flow rate, whether the unit meets the ASME A112.14.3-2022 and CSA B481 equipment standards, and whether you have maintenance records on file showing dated pump-outs and the volume of waste removed. A verbal assurance that you had it cleaned “a few months ago” is not a record. A written log signed by the service technician is.

Plumber measuring grease levels inside a commercial interceptor for compliance reporting

What Non-Compliance Can Cost You

Operating without a functioning interceptor, allowing a unit to exceed the 25% threshold, or using unlicensed waste haulers who are not certified under Ontario’s Environmental Protection Act (O. Reg. 347) can all result in bylaw violation notices, mandatory corrective orders, and in serious cases, forced closure by Hamilton Public Health. The cost of a clean-out on schedule is a fraction of the cost of an enforcement action, a backup into a neighbouring property, or a temporary closure during your busiest service period.

Why Hamilton Food Service Businesses Choose Greg’s for Grease Trap Service

Licensed and insured in Ontario with experience in commercial, institutional, and multi-tenant food service properties
Bylaw 14-090 compliant service — we follow Hamilton’s capacity-based trigger, not a generic schedule that leaves your trap over threshold between visits
Waste disposal on every call through a licensed hauler holding an Environmental Compliance Approval under Ontario Regulation 347
Honest assessment of your unit’s condition — if your interceptor is undersized, failing, or non-compliant with current CSA B481 standards, we tell you plainly and explain your options
Hamilton-based, with service across the full area including Stoney Creek, Ancaster, Dundas, Grimsby, Caledonia, and the Niagara corridor

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Company Van - Greg's Plumbing & Heating - Commercial Plumbing, Residential Plumbing, Plumbing Repairs

FAQ – Commercial Grease Trap and Interceptor Service

Under Bylaw 14-090, the City of Hamilton uses a capacity-based trigger rather than a fixed calendar schedule. Your interceptor must be serviced before grease and solids reach 25% of the unit’s liquid volume. For a high-volume restaurant kitchen, that often means every four to eight weeks. A lower-volume operation such as a bakery or coffee shop may go longer between services. The only accurate answer for your specific business is a baseline inspection that measures your unit’s current condition and your kitchen’s daily FOG output.

All waste extracted from a grease trap or interceptor must be handled by a licensed hauler holding an Environmental Compliance Approval under Ontario Regulation 347 of the Environmental Protection Act. We coordinate this as part of every service call. You receive confirmation that disposal was handled by a certified carrier — which is part of the documentation record an enforcement officer may request.

The most common reasons are that the unit is undersized for your current fixture flow rate, that a previous service used enzyme additives rather than physical pump-out (enzymes push FOG further down the pipe and are banned under most Ontario bylaws for exactly this reason), or that discharge from a new piece of kitchen equipment was added to the trap without a sizing review. We assess the unit and the kitchen layout together to find the actual cause rather than just cleaning it again and waiting.

No. Enzyme and biological additives do not remove FOG from the system — they dissolve it temporarily and move it further down the sewer line where it re-solidifies. Most Ontario municipalities treat additive-only maintenance as non-compliance with the sewer use bylaw because the interceptor is not actually being serviced. The bylaw requires physical pump-out and removal by a certified hauler.

Yes. We size the interceptor to your fixture count and flow rate, pull the necessary permits, and coordinate the inspection sign-off with the City. If you are fitting out a new location or taking over a space where the previous tenant’s unit does not meet current ASME A112.14.3-2022 and CSA B481 standards, we assess and replace it as part of the build-out scope.

Yes. We service commercial grease traps in Grimsby, Stoney Creek, Ancaster, Dundas, Caledonia, Binbrook, and the Niagara region. If your business is within the Hamilton-Niagara corridor, call us and we will confirm coverage before you book.

Commercial Grease Trap Cleaning & Interceptor Service Hamilton