Issue link: http://psai.uberflip.com/i/877076
W EEKLY EDITION SEPT 20, 2017 PSAI Participates in Second Meeting on Community - Scale Resource Recovery Fecal Sludge Treatment Units …continued The group, with help from Germany - based consulting organization TUV - SUD, previously committed to the followi ng essential criteria for fecal sludge processors: • They shall primarily treat human excreta • They shall exhibit the capability of recovering resources • Outputs shall be safe for the environment and human health • They shall be robust enough to handle variatio n in defined inputs and operating conditions without major process upsets • They shall be capable of being energy independent and able to operate in an off - grid environment • They shall be able to operate in a non - sewered environment (no sewer pipe or only a s hort - distance piping solution) • The treatment unit shall be modular and factory built To promote innovation, the standard gives manufacturers wide latitude to determine (a) input specifications beyond excreta, (b) resource recovery capabilities and (c) ene rgy balance of the unit beyond the energy independence requirement. Although these decisions are left to the manufacturer, these parameters must be specified and declared for testers, purchasers, and users to evaluate the performance of the unit relative t o the manufacturer's claims. PSAI Members may wonder, "What does this have to do with portable sanitation?" Executive Director Karleen Kos sums it up this way: "The cost and availability – or lack of availability – of disposal options has topped our Mem bers' lists of concerns every year since we started surveying them. "It is essential that the PSAI be involved in work that is occurring which could provide Members with alternative solutions for dealing with the waste they pump. Some of these new tre atment systems will be of a size and scale that PSAI Member companies may consider it a good idea to own their own processor. Other models will prove to be good options for smaller and rural communities, perhaps affordably expanding the disposal options for PSAI Members in an environmentally friendly way. Regardless of who owns the system, the concept of energy independent, off - grid treatment systems has major implications for the accessibility, affordability, and business model for waste disposal. " In short, we need to be at the table when options that could dramatically affect our Members' businesses are being discussed." PAGE 2 CONTINUE D ON PAGE 3