How much does a Grease Trap Pumping cost to buy?

A typical Grease Trap Pumping sells for 2x to 3.5x seller's discretionary earnings. With estimated SDE of $105K, expect to pay roughly $210K to $368K before adjustments for assets, debt, growth, and local market quality.

How much does it cost to start a Grease Trap Pumping?

Startup costs range from $40K to $120K depending on location, equipment, and scale.

Route

Grease Trap Pumping

Q: What are the profit margins for a Grease Trap Pumping?

The average profit margin for a Grease Trap Pumping is around 30%. Primary costs are truck payment/maintenance, fuel, disposal fees (or transportation to rendering), insurance, and one driver per truck. Margins of 30%+ are common after all costs once routes are established.

The grosser the job, the lower the competition

Bottom line

Operator-friendly model; diligence should focus on acquisition price.

Every restaurant and commercial kitchen in North America is legally required to have its grease traps pumped on a regular schedule — typically every 1-3 months. Grease trap pumping is mandated by municipal wastewater codes, creating near-zero churn once you land accounts. The disgust factor keeps competition low and margins high. A single truck servicing 100-200 restaurant accounts can clear $300K-$500K in revenue with minimal overhead beyond the pump truck.

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Acquisition score

Strong

Avg Revenue

$350K

Profit Margin

30%

Acquisition Multiple

2x - 3.5x

Startup Cost

$40K - $120K

How It Works

Restaurants and commercial kitchens hire you to pump, clean, and haul away grease trap waste on a recurring schedule. Service is billed per pump-out at $175-$800 per visit depending on trap size and frequency. You haul waste to an approved disposal facility or rendering plant. Many facilities will pay you for recovered grease (used in biodiesel). Routes of 150+ accounts generate predictable monthly revenue.

Revenue Range

Low End

$150K

Typical

$350K

High End

$600K

BizBite underwriting snapshot

Pass for now

Grease Trap Pumping has enough high-level data for a first look, but BizBite has not assigned a category-specific operating model yet. Treat the score as preliminary.

Speculative / 100

Data confidence

medium

52/100

Financing fit

medium

Category-level fit before lender-specific diligence.

Confidence cap

Weak source data caps the final score.

Why it may work

+Attractive 30% estimated margin profile
+SBA dataset shows 7 recent comparable loans

Be careful

!Source link status has not been verified yet
!No last-checked date yet
!No category operating model yet
!No category model yet

Real Acquisitions in This Category

SBA 7(a) change-of-ownership loans · NAICS 562998 · All Other Miscellaneous Waste Management Services

Deals tracked

7 in last 24 mo

Median loan

$824K

$215K–$1.7M p25/p75

Implied deal size

$969K

median · ~85% LTV

Charge-off rate

—

not enough resolved loans

Deal Size Distribution

<$150K

$150K–500K

$500K–1M

$1M–2M

>$2M

Deal Flow Over Time

12-month momentum

-60.0%

deal volume vs prior 12 mo

Median loan Δ

-47.9%

2 recent · 5 prior

Financing Profile

Median rate

9.75%

0% fixed · last 24 mo

Median term

120 mo

standard 10-yr

Collateralized

of loans secured

Median jobs

supported per deal

Top lenders in this space

Live Oak Banking Company3

Wells Fargo Bank National Association1

Midwest Regional Bank1

The Stephenson National Bank and Trust1

CDC Small Business Finance Corp.1

Where deals happen

CA4

WI3

FL2

DE2

CO1

MI1

AZ1

MN1

CT1

SD1

Recent Comparable Deals

Closed	State	Loan	Implied deal	Jobs	Franchise
Nov 2025	MN	$312K	$367K	2	—
Sep 2025	AZ	$333K	$392K	4	—
Mar 2025	FL	$619K	$728K	6	—
Oct 2024	WI	$166K	$195K	1	—
Sep 2024	IA	$4.5M	$5.3M	13	—
Jul 2024	MI	$2.8M	$3.3M	23	—
May 2024	CA	$215K	$253K	3	—
Dec 2023	WY	$150K	$177K	3	—
Sep 2023	CA	$1.8M	$2.1M	1	—
Sep 2023	NY	$629K	$740K	2	—

Volume rank #238/544Deal-size rank #216/544Momentum rank #333p90 loan: $2.8MData as of Mar 2026

Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA dataset, filtered to acquisitions (loans where business age is "Change of Ownership"). Implied deal size assumes an 85% loan-to-purchase ratio, a common SBA change-of-ownership structure. Charge-off rate shown only when 10+ loans have resolved (paid in full or charged off). Interest rates reflect last 24 months only. Actual deal values vary with equity injections, seller financing, and working capital terms.

Pros

+Mandatory compliance — restaurants cannot legally skip service
+Extremely high retention once accounts are on contract
+Rendering plants often pay for recovered grease — double revenue stream
+Low competition due to the nature of the work

Cons

-Truck acquisition and disposal facility access are the main hurdles
-Waste disposal regulations vary by municipality
-Odor and mess — not for the faint of heart

Best For

Operators who want recession-proof route revenue and don't mind getting dirty

Operating Costs

Primary costs are truck payment/maintenance, fuel, disposal fees (or transportation to rendering), insurance, and one driver per truck. Margins of 30%+ are common after all costs once routes are established.

SBA Financing Estimator

Adjust the deal — see if it cash flows after debt service

$-2032/mo

after debt service

Deal price — $970K

Range: $530K (2×) to $1.6M (3.5×+)

Down payment — 15% ($146K)

SBA minimum equity injection is 10% for change-of-ownership

Interest rate — 9.75%

SBA median for this category: 9.8%

Loan term — 10 years (120 mo)

SBA median for this category: 120 months

Down payment

$146K

15% equity injection

Loan amount

$825K

85% SBA-financed

Monthly payment

$11K/mo

$469K total interest

Monthly profit

$9K/mo

at 30% margin

Monthly cash flow after debt service

$-2032/mo

Margin does not cover debt service at these terms. Lower the deal price, increase the down payment, or extend the loan term.

Estimates only. Excludes owner compensation, capex, working capital draws, and taxes. Margin assumes average occupancy and volume. Actual SBA terms vary by lender and borrower profile.