Issue link: http://psai.uberflip.com/i/1212564
5 SURVEY OF WASTE DISPOSAL OPTIONS & THEIR IMPACT ON THE PORTABLE SANITATION INDUSTRY © Copyright 2020 by the PSAI. All rights reserved. Residential Other Commercial 63.5% 31.8% 4.7% Domestic septage, including that from portable sanitation, does not fall under EPA's definition for hazardous waste. Hazardous waste is: […] waste, which because of its quantity, concentration, or physical, chemical, or infectious characteristics may (a) cause, or significantly contribute to, an increase in mortality or an increase in serious irreversible, or incapacitating reversible, illness; or (b) pose a substantial present or potential hazard to human health or the environment when improperly treated, stored, transported, or disposed of, or otherwise managed. 5 Because portable sanitation waste is not hazardous, it is often accepted at publicly-owned treatment works (POTWs) and privately-owned treatment facilities. It can also be applied to the land under special permitting rules in many areas. These three options are the most common for the disposal of liquid waste collected by portable sanitation companies. The Challenge Although portable sanitation companies generally rely on POTWs, some authorities in the United States may choose not to accept hauled domestic septage or industrial wastewater at these facilities. While this may not be a hardship for larger industrial operations capable of processing their own wastewater onsite, portable sanitation companies are usually smaller in size and scope. Access to legal, affordable waste processing is essential to the provision of their important service and to the survival of their businesses. It may seem unfair that a facility can turn away waste from a portable sanitation company hauling it from within the treatment facility's service area, but it can and does happen. The decision-makers at these facilities have to balance many demands against the plant's available capacity to treat the waste coming to it. When they are already operating near capacity, it is more difficult to treat waste from portable restrooms. This is because portable restroom waste is more concentrated than residential wastewater. It is also simply easier to turn a truck away at the gate than it is to refuse other sources of waste it is expected to process. Consequently, disposal privileges are usually tied to the capacity of the local wastewater infrastructure to handle whatever growth may be occurring there. 6 At present, wastewater production from increasing household and business demand—partially occurring as the result of an overall uptick in the number of households, and partially due to human behaviors that increase wastewater production overall—is reducing the plant capacity available for hauled domestic septage. IBIS World reported in December 2019 that more than 63% of all sewage treatment in the US is currently devoted to residential sources. 7 The number of households is expected to increase at a rate that exceeds the growth rate of treatment facilities, so this problem is expected to get worse over the next several years. 8 Its impact on portable sanitation will likely be significant. Sewage Treatment in the US – Figure 3