Leachate is the liquid that forms when water passes through waste matter, picking up dissolved solids, organic compounds, and harmful chemicals along the way. It typically runs off from landfills or industrial waste streams, and tends to have a strongly acidic or alkaline pH along with a distinctive odour. Left untreated, leachate has the potential to enter the wider environment and cause significant pollution — contaminating groundwater, surface waters, and soil.

Before leachate from industrial processes is allowed to enter a local wastewater treatment plant, it must be sampled and analysed to ensure it falls within accepted discharge limits. The Water Lab provides sampling and laboratory analysis of leachate for landfill operators, waste management companies, and industrial sites — testing for the full range of parameters relevant to trade effluent consents. Our reporting gives you the documentation you need for the local authority and the confidence that your discharge is compliant before it reaches the treatment works.