The treating of wastewater onsite in shopping malls could significantly reduce the water bill and bring other environmental benefits, such as water recycling and wastewater minimisation.

Major shopping malls, with dozens of restaurants in the food court and thousands of daily meals to prepare, are facing more and more wastewater compliance issues. Treating discharge properly is also important as it can lead to bad odours coming from grease traps which can put off potential customers.

Installing a technology such as dissolved air flotation (DAF) units can help deal with local regulations, eliminate odours and save on logistical costs of having to physically clean and remove the grease build up. With no major civil works needed, malls can significantly improve their environmental performance.

Result

In addition, water treated by DAF, after disinfection and filtration, can be reused for irrigation or toilet facilities. This saves water and related costs as well. Most of the DAF system costs can be recovered within a year thanks to the water savings, as about 90 % of food court wastewater can be reused for flushing toilets.