WEEKLY EDITION JULY 3, 2019
Pharmaceuticals in Wastewater: Implications
for the Portable Sanitation Industry
By Karleen Kos, PSAI Executive Director
PAGE 13
3. If waste treatment plants grow less likely to accept portable sanitation loads or the cost of
disposing there goes up, operators will have to increase their prices to customers. They will
also have to choose between continuing to pay the disposal fees at the treatment plant or
investing in their own on site treatment solution. On site solutions may become more
feasible for mid-sized operators as the cost to dispose goes up.
4. There is good potential for an increased market for on site waste treatment solutions –
especially those that recycle the water for ongoing use by the operator.
5. More research is needed, but it appears now that no one method of treating wastewater
does as good a job of removing these pharmaceutical chemicals as multiple treatment
methods. There is a significant business opportunity for inventors and entrepreneurs to
improve waste treatment technologies that remove the chemicals more quickly and cheaply.
What do you think? How will increased attention to trace pharmaceuticals in the treated water
supply affect your business? Let us know at info@psai.og
