Portable Sanitation Association International

ASSOCIATIONINSIGHT Portable Sanitation Association International News BIWEEKLY EDITION FEBRUARY 17, 2021 Page 13 Disposal Challenges Require Long-Term Planning and Investment…continued from page 2 Continued on page 14 Here are some options to think about as you design your waste disposal strategy for the coming years. Use Privately Owned Treatment Works As POTWs become more likely to reach maximum capacity or make access restrictive for companies, privately held treatment plants will fill the gap to a certain extent. If there is a privately held facility in your area, it may be an option to explore. According to the PSAI's 2020 Waste Disposal Survey, 15 percent of companies currently use a private facility as their best option. For several reasons, though, portable sanitation operator companies will probably not want to put all their eggs in this basket. Owning a treatment plant is a capital-intensive business, and owners or investment groups will not enter it lightly. In fact, what is most common at present is private companies taking over aging public facilities. Because of the up-front capital and ongoing maintenance costs, margins are low in this business, ranging from 7.6 percent to 11.7 percent. This means the number of treatment facilities, public and private combined, will only grow between 2.24 percent (IBISWorld) and 5 percent (Kentley Insights) between 2021 and 2026. So it isn't likely that numerous private plants will appear in the near term to fill the gap left by POTW capacity issues. Private owners have more control over what waste they accept and what they charge. On one hand, this means you may pay more and rates may change more frequently than at POTWs; POTWs usually have to get approval from a utilities commission or other public process before they can raise rates substantially. On the other hand, if there is a privately held treatment plant in your area, you may be able to strike a deal. If the facility is not a public- private partnership and the owners have control, you may want to see if you can get a longer-term contract with the plant. In the ideal, you might be able to lock in key things like the amount of waste they will accept from your firm, maximum constituents in the waste, cost, and so on. Remember, unless your state prohibits it, private owners can decide to stop doing business with you with little notice. Unless you have a contract with a private facility, be sure you have a backup plan. Be Prepared to Travel Some portable sanitation companies are already in the unenviable position of not having a suitable disposal site near their company yard. In certain cases, treatment facilities exist, but they are not taking portable restroom waste, the cost is prohibitive, or the distance is too far to make regular discharge runs. What, then, can a company do? In a world of imperfect options, a few portable waste companies have dealt with this challenge by leasing or buying large tankers. They then transfer waste from smaller vacuum trucks into the large tanker which serves as a holding vessel until it is full. They then haul the waste in bulk to a disposal location a great distance away. This option may be good if: • your state or municipality allows waste transfer between vehicles; • there is a treatment plant or land application option willing to take your waste if you truck it in; and • the math works such that your business remains viable once you figure in leasing/purchasing costs, fuel, time, risk management, and disposal expenses.

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