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SURVEY OF WASTE DISPOSAL OPTIONS & THEIR IMPACT ON THE PORTABLE SANITATION INDUSTRY
© Copyright 2020 by the PSAI. All rights reserved.
Sources
1
Portable Sanitation Association International (PSAI) internal data as published in 2020 PSAI Industry Resource Directory,
page 12.
2
US Bureau of the Census data from 2012–2017 for firms categorized under NAICS codes 562991 (septic tank and related
services) and 5629912 (portable toilet rental; a subset of 562991), review of IBIS World data from report 56299-Portable
Toilet Rental and Septic Tank Cleaning for years 2015-2020, PSAI internal data and estimates.
3
Code of Federal Regulations Title 40 - Protection of Environment. Chapter I – Environmental Protection Agency,
Subchapter O — Sewage Sludge, part 503.9f defines domestic septage. Accessed at https://www.govinfo.gov/content/
pkg/CFR-2018-title40-vol32/xml/CFR-2018-title40-vol32-part503.xml#seqnum503.9 on February 2, 2020.
4
Code of Federal Regulations Title 40 - Protection of Environment. Chapter I – Environmental Protection Agency,
Subchapter O — Sewage Sludge, part 503.9g and part 503.9n defines domestic sewage and industrial wastewater.
Accessed at https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CFR-2018-title40-vol32/xml/CFR-2018-title40-vol32-part503.
xml#seqnum503.9 on February 2, 2020.
5
Introduction to United States Environmental Protection Agency Hazardous Waste Identification (40 CFR Parts 261), section
2.2, page 3. Accessed at https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-09/documents/hwid05.pdf on February 2, 2020.
6
In highly rural areas where residents depend on septic systems rather than POTWs, the situation for portable restroom
operators is somewhat different. In those cases, portable sanitation operators have the following options: (a) truck their
hauled waste to a POTW that will accept it; (b) truck their waste to a licensed private waste processor; (c) dispose of it
via land application when that is permissible and feasible; or (d) install facilities and receive a permit for onsite wastewater
treatment.
7
IBIS World Industry Report 22132: Sewage Treatment Facilities in the US, December 2019, page 3.
8
For information on projected growth of POTWs see the EPA's Clean Watersheds Needs Survey-2012 Report to Congress
(2016). Accessed at https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-12/documents/cwns_2012_report_to_congress-508-
opt.pdf on February 2, 2020. For information on projected population growth, see Projections of the Size and Composition
of the US Population: 2014-2060 published by the US Census Bureau. Accessed February 2, 2020 at https://www.census.
gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2015/demo/p25-1143.pdf
9
Numbers on the maps exceed the total number of companies who responded. Larger operators do business in multiple
states and provided data on disposal experiences in the states in which they do business.
10
Operators who reported conducting pre-treatment activities listed the following: dewatering, lime stabilization, biological
additives, sludge settling, and various straining methods.
11
The CPI Calculator for the period 2014-2018 gives a cumulative inflation rate for the period of 7.99%. Accessed at https://
www.in2013dollars.com/us/inflation/2014?endYear=2019&amount=100 on February 8, 2020.
12
CPI Calculator accessed at https://www.in2013dollars.com/us/inflation/2019?endYear=2024&amount=100&future_
pct=0.025 on February 8, 2020.
13
Bureau of Labor Statistics data for 2018 placed this number at $19.03 per hour. Assuming 2-3% annual pay
adjustments since then, we use an average of $20.00 per hour for wages. The cost of employer-paid taxes and benefits
is estimated at 29.85% of gross wages as of September 2019 or $5.97 per hour. See https://www.bls.gov/iag/tgs/
iag562.htm#earnings for wage data accessed February 7, 2020 and https://www.bls.gov/regions/southwest/news-release/
employercostsforemployeecompensation_regions.htm#table1 for benefits data accessed on February 7, 2020.
14
Data from the American Trucking Research Institute, November 2019. Accessed at https://truckingresearch.org/wp-
content/uploads/2019/11/ATRI-Operational-Costs-of-Trucking-2019-1.pdf on February 7, 2020.
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Truck costs=30 roundtrip miles x $1.045/mile=$31.35. Employee costs=1.5 hours x $25.97/hour=$38.96.
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