Septic Tank Emptying London & Tanker Services
Septic tank emptying, cesspit clearance, jet-vac drain jetting, grease-trap and commercial tanker services across every London borough. From £180. Same day available.
Environment Agency licensed haulier with full waste-carrier registration. Fixed quote before work begins. Duty-of-care transfer note on every job. 60-minute target response in zones 1-3.
Landline 0207 046 1363 · Mobile/WhatsApp 07456 975436
EA licensed haulier
Upper-tier registered
All 32 boroughs
Same-day available
24/7 dispatch
365 days a year
From £180
Fixed quote on arrival
BS EN 12566
Standards-compliant
Septic tank emptying in London starts at £180 for a standard domestic empty (up to 4,000 litres) and runs to £420 for larger 4,500L+ tanks. Cesspit emptying is £220 to £420 depending on volume. We dispatch tankers 24/7 across all 32 London boroughs with a 60-minute target response in zones 1-3. Every job includes the Environment Agency duty-of-care waste transfer note and disposal at a permitted facility. Call 0207 046 1363 for a fixed quote in 60 seconds.
Septic tank emptying & tanker services across London
A single fleet covers the full spread of liquid-waste work in London, with septic tank emptying as the most common job we attend. Whether you have a Victorian brick septic tank in a Crouch End rear garden, a modern fibreglass tank serving a converted coach house in Fulham, or a sealed cesspit on the Hillingdon fringe, the dispatcher will pick the right tanker on the call and confirm the fixed price before the crew leaves the yard. Call 0207 046 1363.
Septic tank emptying London
Annual de-sludging of domestic and commercial septic tanks across every London borough. We arrive with the right tanker for the volume (most domestic tanks are 2,800 to 4,500 litres), lift the full sludge layer, inspect the inlet baffle and outlet T-pipe, and jet the outflow line if it is showing signs of carryover. The tank is left partially refilled so the bacterial ecosystem recovers within 48 hours. Every empty includes a sludge-depth reading on a calibrated dipstick so we can book the next visit accurately. A duty-of-care waste transfer note is issued on site. Fixed price from £180 confirmed on arrival.
Cesspit emptying London
Cesspits are sealed tanks with no outlet, common on older properties on the London fringe where mains drainage is not available. They must be emptied on a regular schedule — typically every 6 to 12 weeks for a four-person household with a 10,000-litre tank. We dispatch a single tanker large enough to lift the entire contents in one visit, so no partial empties and no return trips. Same-day emergency response for overflows: the dispatcher will give a firm arrival window before the call ends. EA waste transfer note issued on site, with copies emailed the same day for your records.
Jet-Vac drain jetting (gully + main sewer)
A Jet-Vac combines a high-pressure jetter (3,000 to 4,000 psi at 80 litres per minute) with a vacuum intake on the same vehicle. The jetter breaks blockages, cuts roots and scours the pipe wall while the vacuum simultaneously lifts the displaced material into the tanker. This single-pass approach is the correct method for 150mm-plus Victorian sewers, long lateral runs, interceptors, and any drain line where rodding has failed. Tanker sizes from 1,000 to 5,000 litres for gully and lateral work, up to 18,000 litres for main-sewer and trunk-run jobs.
Grease trap emptying
Full emptying of under-sink and external grease traps for commercial kitchens, pubs, hotels and food-production sites across London. We remove the fats, oils and grease (FOG) layer, scrape the trap walls, jet the outflow line to clear any solidified plugs, and issue a FOG waste consignment note (EWC 19 08 09). Booked on 4-, 6- or 12-weekly cycles, or as an emergency one-off when a trap has overflowed. Out-of-hours bookings between 23:00 and 05:00 are standard so the work fits around service hours and minimises disruption to the kitchen.
Commercial tanker services
Industrial-scale tanker work for factories, warehouses, logistics depots, food-production sites, data centres and managed estates across London. Covers interceptors, oil-water separators, balancing tanks, attenuation pits, sumps, trade-effluent lines and large grease traps. Our operators hold confined-space, IPAF and waste-handling tickets. We supply a planned-maintenance schedule, full disposal reporting against EWC codes, and the trade-effluent paperwork required by Thames Water under section 118 of the Water Industry Act 1991. PPM contracts available — see our PPM contracts page.
Cost guide — septic tank & tanker prices London (2026)
The prices below are honest ranges based on the jobs we actually do in 2026. The bottom of each range is for straightforward work during daytime hours on accessible sites. The top of the range covers out-of-hours, difficult access, large-volume jobs, or multi-stage work involving a CCTV survey or follow-up jetting. The fixed price is confirmed on arrival after the operator measures the sludge depth and sights the access — no hidden fuel, disposal or paperwork charges.
| Service | Typical Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Septic tank empty (standard domestic) | £180–£320 | Up to 4,000 litres, annual de-sludge, baffle check, waste transfer note included |
| Septic tank empty (large 4,500L+) | £260–£420 | Larger tanks or family of 5+, full lift, soakaway outflow check |
| Cesspit empty (sealed tank) | £220–£420 | Up to 10,000 litres, 30–60 min on site, EA waste transfer note |
| Jet-vac 1,000L tanker (small access) | £180–£320 | Per visit, ideal for gullies, small drains, residential, mews access |
| Jet-vac 3,000L full tanker | £350–£550 | Per visit, main sewer jetting, larger commercial work |
| Gully sucking / silt removal | £140–£220 | Per gully or first 2 gullies, multi-gully discount on the same visit |
| Grease trap empty (commercial kitchen) | £180–£360 | Under-sink or external trap, FOG consignment note included |
| Emergency same-day surcharge | +£60 | Added to base price for same-day priority dispatch within 4 hours |
| Out-of-hours callout (nights / weekends) | £400–£800 | 60–90 min response across all London zones |
| Industrial / 18,000-litre tanker | £500–£1,500 | Interceptors, plant rooms, balancing tanks, trade-effluent |
Prices are London ranges for 2026. VAT not included. Fixed quote confirmed on site before work begins. Duty-of-care waste transfer note issued on every job.
Need a septic tank empty booked? Call the landline for a quote in 60 seconds.
0207 046 1363How septic tank emptying works — 4-step process
A tanker callout has four phases from phone call to waste transfer note. Knowing what happens at each stage lets you plan access, payment and follow-up. If the job turns out to be a straight domestic plumbing issue rather than a tanker job, we will say so on the phone and redirect you to the right service — typically our emergency plumber London team.
Booking call
Call the landline on 0207 046 1363 and a dispatcher takes the details: property type, tank or drain location, postcode, sludge level if known, and whether this is a planned annual empty or an emergency overflow. The dispatcher confirms tanker size, fixed price range, and a firm arrival window before the call ends. For commercial bookings we email a written quote and risk assessment within the hour.
Site visit and assessment
The crew arrives in the agreed window in branded PPE, with vehicle paperwork, waste-carrier certificate, hauliers licence and a site-specific risk assessment. For commercial sites we sign in at reception and follow the client's site rules. The operator lifts the tank cover, takes a sludge-depth reading on a calibrated dipstick, checks the inlet and outlet, and confirms the fixed price on the spot. No mid-job surprises.
Empty or jet
Tanker lift starts immediately. Most domestic septic empties take 30 to 60 minutes on site. Jet-Vac drain jobs take 60 to 120 minutes depending on run length and blockage type. We work to BS EN 752 cleaning categories and use the WRc MSCC5 coding system on any CCTV survey that follows. The tank is left partially refilled where appropriate to protect the biological treatment layer.
Waste transfer note
Before the tanker leaves site we issue the duty-of-care waste transfer note required under section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. The note lists the waste description, EWC code (20 03 04 for septic-tank sludge, 19 08 09 for grease-trap waste, 20 03 06 for cesspit waste), quantity in litres, origin and destination permitted facility. Copies are emailed the same day for your duty-of-care records.
Borough coverage — septic tank emptying across all 32 London boroughs
Every London borough has its own drainage quirks. Victorian clay sewers in the inner boroughs, mews-access constraints in the west, commercial grease-trap density around the City and Canary Wharf, and rural-fringe cesspits in the outer boroughs. We dispatch tanker and jet-vac crews to all 32 boroughs, 24 hours a day. The boroughs marked with a link have dedicated local pages with neighbourhood-level pricing, response times and recent case studies.
Featured borough pages
All 32 London boroughs we cover
| Borough | Postcodes | Local page |
|---|---|---|
| Barking and Dagenham | IG11, RM8–RM10 | Covered — call to book |
| Barnet | N2, N3, N11, NW4, NW7 | Covered — call to book |
| Bexley | DA5–DA8, DA14–DA18 | Covered — call to book |
| Brent | NW2, NW6, NW9, NW10, HA0, HA9 | Covered — call to book |
| Bromley | BR1–BR8, SE19, SE20 | Covered — call to book |
| Camden | NW1, NW3, WC1, WC2 | Covered — call to book |
| City of London | EC1–EC4 | Septic tank emptying City of London → |
| City of Westminster | SW1, W1, W2, W9, WC2 | Covered — call to book |
| Croydon | CR0, CR2, CR4, CR7, SE25 | Covered — call to book |
| Ealing | W3, W5, W7, W13, UB1, UB2, UB6 | Covered — call to book |
| Enfield | EN1–EN3, N9, N13, N14, N18, N21 | Covered — call to book |
| Greenwich | SE3, SE7, SE9, SE10, SE18 | Covered — call to book |
| Hackney | E2, E5, E8, E9, N1, N16 | Covered — call to book |
| Hammersmith and Fulham | SW6, W6, W12, W14 | Septic tank emptying Hammersmith and Fulham → |
| Haringey | N4, N6, N8, N10, N15, N17, N22 | Septic tank emptying Haringey → |
| Harrow | HA1–HA3, HA5, HA7, HA8 | Covered — call to book |
| Havering | RM1–RM7, RM11–RM14 | Covered — call to book |
| Hillingdon | UB3, UB4, UB7–UB10, TW6, HA4 | Septic tank emptying Hillingdon → |
| Hounslow | TW3–TW5, TW7, TW8, TW13, TW14 | Covered — call to book |
| Islington | EC1, N1, N5, N7, N19 | Septic tank emptying Islington → |
| Kensington and Chelsea | SW3, SW5, SW7, SW10, W8, W10, W11 | Covered — call to book |
| Kingston upon Thames | KT1–KT3, KT5, KT6, KT9 | Covered — call to book |
| Lambeth | SE11, SE24, SE27, SW2, SW4, SW8, SW9, SW16 | Septic tank emptying Lambeth → |
| Lewisham | SE4, SE6, SE8, SE12, SE13, SE14, SE23, SE26 | Covered — call to book |
| Merton | SW19, SW20, CR4, SM4 | Covered — call to book |
| Newham | E6, E7, E12, E13, E15, E16 | Covered — call to book |
| Redbridge | E11, E18, IG1–IG6, IG8 | Covered — call to book |
| Richmond upon Thames | TW1, TW2, TW9, TW10, KT2, SW13, SW14 | Covered — call to book |
| Southwark | SE1, SE5, SE15, SE16, SE17, SE21, SE22 | Septic tank emptying Southwark → |
| Sutton | SM1–SM3, SM5–SM7 | Covered — call to book |
| Tower Hamlets | E1, E2, E3, E14 | Covered — call to book |
| Waltham Forest | E4, E10, E11, E17 | Septic tank emptying Waltham Forest → |
| Wandsworth | SW8, SW11, SW12, SW15, SW17, SW18 | Septic tank emptying Wandsworth → |
All 32 London boroughs covered for septic tank emptying, cesspit clearance and tanker services. Same fleet, same pricing, same fixed-quote guarantee whether your borough has a dedicated page or not.
Standards, licensing & paperwork
Septic tank emptying and tanker work in England is tightly regulated. The Environment Agency, Thames Water and the relevant British and European standards all sit behind every visit. Below is what we hold and what every customer is entitled to see on request.
EA hauliers licence + upper-tier waste carrier registration
Every tanker we operate is registered with the Environment Agency as an upper-tier waste carrier, broker and dealer. Each tanker run is logged against the EA hauliers licence — vehicle, driver, EWC code, origin, destination and quantity. The licence number is printed on every waste transfer note and is verifiable via the EA public register. The T15 exemption covers temporary storage of septic-tank sludge before transfer to a permitted facility. The EA can demand the full licence trail at any time and refusal to produce one is a strict-liability offence; we keep five years of records on file.
Waste transfer notes on every job (EPA 1990 s.34)
Section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 places a duty of care on every producer of controlled waste. We discharge that duty for you by issuing a waste transfer note on site listing the waste description, EWC code, quantity and destination permitted facility. The note covers a single transfer or up to 12 months as a season ticket for repeat collections. Failing to keep a copy for two years is a separate offence, so we email a copy automatically and store the originals on file as backup.
Duty of care — what it means for you
If you are a householder, the duty of care is discharged by handing the waste to a registered carrier and keeping a copy of the transfer note. If you are a commercial occupier, you must verify the carrier's registration, classify the waste correctly, keep the note for two years and produce it on demand to the EA. We supply everything in a format that satisfies both — including the destination facility name, permit number and the specific EWC code applicable to your waste stream.
BS EN 12566 + General Binding Rules (septic tanks)
Septic tanks installed in England after 1 January 2020 must comply with BS EN 12566 and the General Binding Rules. Tanks discharging direct to surface water (rather than to a soakaway) are no longer permitted and must be replaced or upgraded to a packaged treatment plant. On every empty we inspect against the standard and flag non-compliant installations so the owner can remediate before enforcement action. The General Binding Rules also require an empty at least once a year, regardless of sludge depth.
Common scenarios — when you need a tanker
Six recent jobs showing what real septic tank emptying and tanker pricing looks like across London. Locations and postcodes are accurate; addresses are redacted.
Victorian terrace septic tank — Crouch End N8
Three-bed terrace with a brick septic tank in the rear garden. Annual de-sludge booked, 3,800 litres lifted, baffle inspected, T-pipe jetted. 90 minutes on site. Fixed price £240 inc. transfer note and disposal.
Cesspit overflow at 11pm — Pimlico SW1V
Sealed cesspit serving a basement flat went over the lid during heavy rain after the soakaway failed. Emergency callout, 10,000-litre tanker on site within 55 minutes, full lift completed, gully outside the property jetted to clear the back-surge. Total £420 including out-of-hours premium.
Restaurant grease trap — Soho W1D
Eight-cover bistro on a side street off Old Compton Street, grease trap missed its 6-weekly empty and FOG was carrying through to the main sewer. Booked for 01:30 after service, full empty, outflow jetted, FOG consignment note issued. £280 plus £60 out-of-hours.
Estate gully run — Wandsworth SW18
Managed block with 14 surface-water gullies on the car park and service road, blocked after autumn leaf fall. Booked as one half-day visit, all 14 gullies sucked and jetted, silt removed under transfer note. £980 for the full site, around £70 per gully when bundled.
Basement flood after burst main — Battersea SW11
Burst Thames Water main on the street flooded a three-storey basement extension to 30cm. 3,000-gallon tanker extracted the standing water in 25 minutes, follow-up with a wet-vac inside on stairwells. Insurance-supported claim, fixed quote £620, paperwork supplied for the loss adjuster.
Septic tank de-sludge — Fulham SW6
Period property with a 4,500-litre septic tank serving a converted coach house at the rear. 12-month interval, 50% sludge depth measured on arrival, full lift in 45 minutes, outflow jetted, soakaway dye-tested clear. £260 fixed, transfer note emailed same evening.
Areas we cover — borough service pages
Browse our borough service pages for local plumbing, drainage and emergency response coverage. Septic tank emptying and tanker services are available across every borough on this list, plus the 16 others not shown.
Frequently asked questions — septic tank emptying London
Detailed answers to the 16 questions we hear most often on the phone. If your situation is not covered below, call 0207 046 1363 and the dispatcher will walk you through it. For related guidance see our articles on how to unblock a drain and diagnosing a sewage smell in the house.
How often does a septic tank in London need emptying?
How much does septic tank emptying cost in London?
What does septic tank emptying actually involve?
What happens if I miss a septic tank empty?
Do you cover all 32 London boroughs?
Is a sewage smell from my septic tank normal?
What is a cesspit and how is it different from a septic tank?
Do you issue a waste transfer note?
What is a Jet-Vac tanker and when do I need one?
How quickly can you get a tanker to me?
Can you empty tanks in restricted-access locations?
What size tanker do you send for septic work?
Do you operate at night and on weekends?
What happens to the waste after you collect it?
Do I need planning permission for a new septic tank?
Are you fully licensed and insured?
Still got a question? Talk to a dispatcher.
Call 0207 046 1363Service area
Service Area — All London Boroughs
Our tanker fleet covers every London borough, 24 hours a day. Office at 71-75 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, WC2H 9JQ, with tanker yards north and south of the river for fast response.
Book a septic tank empty now
24/7 dispatch across every London borough. Target 60 minutes to zones 1-3 and 90 minutes to outer London.
Fixed quote on arrival. Duty-of-care waste transfer note on every job. Environment Agency licensed upper-tier waste carrier.
Landline: 0207 046 1363 · Mobile/WhatsApp: 07456 975436 · 71-75 Shelton Street, London WC2H 9JQ · Co. No. 17120057