Portable Sanitation Association International

ASSOCIATIONINSIGHT Portable Sanitation Association International News BIWEEKLY EDITION SEPTEMBER 16, 2020 Page 6 It's Not Easy Being Green, but It's What We Do…Continued from page 5 For example, on an annual basis, portable restrooms eliminate the cost and energy required to run 45 billion gallons of water through expensive waste treatment plants. Treatment plants cost money and natural resources to build and operate. Here's what a 2015 EPA report had to say: "Energy use can account for as much as 10 percent of a local government's annual operating budget (U.S. DOE, 2005a). A significant amount of this municipal energy use occurs at water and wastewater treatment facilities. With pumps, motors, and other equipment operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week, water and wastewater facilities can be among the largest consumers of energy in a community—and thus among the largest contributors to the community's total [greenhouse gas-GHG] emissions. Nationally, the energy used by water and wastewater utilities accounts for 35 percent of typical U.S. municipal energy budgets (NYSERDA, 2008). Electricity use accounts for 25–40 percent of the operating budgets for wastewater utilities and approximately 80 percent of drinking water processing and distribution costs (NYSERDA, 2008). Drinking water and wastewater systems account for approximately 3 to 4 percent of energy use in the United States, resulting in the emissions of more than 45 million tons of GHGs annually (U.S. EPA, 2012b)." 1 So as portable restrooms help take some of the load off of wastewater processing plants, they indirectly help the environment by reducing GHGs used in water treatment. Another thing our industry does to help save time and energy at the treatment plant is to accelerate the biologic processes that break down waste. Many of the deodorizing products used in portable sanitation are "green." They start working on the waste while it sits in the tank of a portable restroom or truck, hastening the neutralization of pathogens and making it easier to process once delivered to the disposal site. Yet another way that portable sanitation helps reduce GHGs is by reducing the number of miles people have to drive in their cars to get to a restroom. Most people do not associate portable restrooms with saving fuel, but it's true. At construction sites, parks, soccer fields, outdoor stadiums, recreational facilities, and other locations where portable restrooms are provided, fuel is saved because it isn't necessary to drive to a restroom facility. Our units are recyclable. Most portable restrooms are made from polyethylene, a fossil fuel-based plastic that is strong, flexible, and waterproof. A single portable restroom unit can last between 10 and 20 years. When it reaches the end of its life, the polyethylene from which it is made can be recycled up to 10 times before the materials are compromised. According to AZoCleanTech, a leading recycling publication, the worldwide recycling market for polyethylene is huge, with a volume of around 30 million tons per year. So do the math. The plastic from a single unit can be used for between 100 and 200 years, saving fuel and space in landfills when properly recycled. 1. Taken from the Executive Summary to "Energy Efficiency in Water and Wastewater Facilities: A Guide to Developing and Implementing Greenhouse Gas Reduction Programs," published by the US Environmental Protection Agency in 2015. Recycled plastic pellets Continued on page 7

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