Sydney's Sewage Crisis: Up to 12,000 Food Businesses Suspected of Illegal Waste Discharge
A startling revelation from a confidential Sydney Water report has exposed a potential environmental crisis in Australia's largest city. According to the document, as many as 12,000 food businesses operating in Sydney's south-west could be illegally discharging fats, oils, and grease (FOGs) into the sewage catchment that flows to the Malabar treatment plant. This facility is home to a massive fatberg, estimated to be as large as four buses, which has been linked to recent pollution incidents on Sydney's iconic beaches.
The Scale of Noncompliance and Its Consequences
The report, obtained by Guardian Australia, was commissioned to investigate the mysterious black debris balls that forced the closure of Sydney beaches in October 2024 and January 2025. It presents a damning hypothesis: a substantial accumulation of FOGs has built up in an inaccessible area of the Malabar plant at the start of the deep ocean outfall, which carries primary-treated sewage 2.3 kilometres out to sea. Changes in pumping pressure are believed to have caused this fatberg to break apart, releasing contaminated material into the ocean that subsequently washed back onto eastern and northern beaches.
The data is alarming. Over the past decade, there has been a 39% increase in fats, oils, and grease entering the Malabar plant, alongside a 125% surge in volatile organic compounds. The report explicitly states that the thousands of potentially unregistered food businesses in the catchment area could be significant contributors to these escalating FOG loads, posing a direct threat to public health and marine ecosystems.
Systemic Failures and Regulatory Changes
Critics argue that this crisis coincides with significant changes to Sydney Water's Wastesafe program, introduced in 2017. The program, established in 1991, originally required food processors and restaurants to install approved grease control mechanisms, regularly empty their grease traps, and submit to inspections by dedicated Sydney Water officials to ensure compliance.
However, the 2017 overhaul shifted to a digital reporting system. Under the new regime, transport companies themselves became responsible for reporting the FOGs they collected by scanning a barcode at food retailers and detailing the volume removed. Concurrently, the number of dedicated field inspectors was reduced. Brett Lemin, Executive Director of the Waste Contractors and Recyclers Association of NSW, highlighted the challenge, noting that while Sydney Water still employs inspectors, their numbers are not what they used to be. "It's very hard to police people who aren't even registering for the Wastesafe system," Lemin said. "There are great people in the food industry who are doing the right thing, but it's very easy to fly under the radar."
Industry Response and Broader Implications
The restaurant industry has responded with scepticism to Sydney Water's claims. John Hart, President of Restaurant and Catering Australia, expressed surprise at the 12,000 figure, asserting that all public-facing food businesses require development approval from local councils, which mandates the installation of a grease trap. "If it is a problem, it's their problem," Hart stated, shifting responsibility back to the water authority.
Yet, experts suggest the scale of the issue is plausible. Professor Stuart Khan, a water expert at the University of Sydney and chair of the NSW government's independent water advisory panel, remarked that the figure "didn't seem outrageous" given the vast Malabar catchment, which extends to areas like Glenfield and Liverpool, and the proliferation of cafes, chicken shops, and food manufacturers within it.
The problem is not isolated to Malabar. A separate project focusing on the Bondi treatment plant, which services the city and eastern suburbs, confirmed that a significant number of businesses are operating without the required trade waste approvals. This project identified over 300 new customers discharging waste illegally, representing a 13% increase in known contributors in that catchment. When extrapolated across Sydney Water's entire operational area, this suggests a conservative estimate of at least 1,500 retail food businesses discharging FOGs illegally citywide.
Official Stance and Ongoing Challenges
Sydney Water acknowledges the 2017 change in service provider for the Wastesafe tracking system but maintains that the program's core purpose and compliance obligations remained unchanged. A spokesperson confirmed that the corporation currently employs 12 field inspectors who work directly with retail food trade waste customers and produces informational factsheets for businesses in multiple languages.
However, the August 2025 report underscores a more severe reality, stating that the 12,000 figure for the Malabar catchment alone is derived from a more recent database analysis, excluding non-retail sources and the diversity of businesses in other catchments. This indicates that the true scale of illegal discharges may be even larger, presenting a formidable challenge for regulators and threatening Sydney's coastal environment and public health infrastructure.
