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Glossary of grease trap terms
The words you'll hear from carriers, plumbers and City inspectors, in plain language. For the exact legal wording, see the Toronto rules page.
- Access Environment
- Ontario's public search tool for environmental approvals and registrations, including waste ECAs and EASR registrations.
- Building permit
- Needed in Toronto to install or replace a grease interceptor; the work follows the Ontario Building Code.
- Catch basin
- The grated drain at the side of a road or parking lot. It leads to the storm sewer, and only rain and snowmelt may go into it.
- CSA B481.1:22
- The CSA standard for hydromechanical grease interceptors. Toronto requires point-of-source units to meet it.
- Drain Contractor licence
- A City of Toronto licence for businesses that repair, build, install or clean drainage works.
- EASR
- The Environmental Activity and Sector Registry. Some activities, including many waste transportation systems, are registered here instead of needing an ECA.
- ECA
- Environmental Compliance Approval: a permission issued by Ontario's Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks. A waste management system ECA covers hauling waste.
- FOG
- Fats, oils and grease. The material a grease interceptor is built to hold back.
- Flusher truck
- A truck that pushes high-pressure water through a line. Toronto requires one approved by the Ministry for unclogging private lines.
- Gravity grease interceptor
- A large in-ground tank, typically 300 to 2,000 gallons (about 1,100 to 7,600 litres), that slows wastewater so grease floats and solids settle.
- Grease recovery device
- A hydromechanical interceptor that skims floating grease into a separate container. It needs daily attention.
- Hydromechanical grease interceptor
- The unit most people call a grease trap: a small point-of-source unit under a sink or set into the floor.
- Line jetting
- Cleaning a drain line with a high-pressure water jet, usually paired with a vacuum to collect what comes loose.
- Ministry-approved waste carrier
- A hauler holding the Ontario permission needed to transport the waste. Toronto requires one for interceptor servicing and disposal.
- Plumbing Contractor licence
- A City of Toronto licence for businesses that contract or repair plumbing installations.
- Pre-rinse sink
- A sink at the inlet to a dishwasher. If you use one instead of connecting the dishwasher, it must drain to a grease interceptor.
- Rated capacity
- The most grease an interceptor is designed to hold, shown on a CSA-marked unit as its maximum containment capacity.
- Sanitary sewer
- The sewer that carries wastewater to a treatment plant. Kitchen drains connect here, through the interceptor.
- Solids interceptor
- A strainer unit that catches food solids before they reach the grease interceptor. It can stand alone or be built in.
- Storm sewer
- The separate sewer that takes rain and snowmelt from catch basins. Grease poured into one doesn't pass through a treatment plant.
- Yellow grease
- Used cooking oil collected for recycling, kept apart from grease interceptor waste.