As the portable sanitation industry matures, contractors are taking a look at their businesses with an eye toward profitability and sustainability. And part of sustainability has to do with the choices PROs make in purchasing and using cleaning solutions and tank additives, including disinfectants and deodorizers.
All of these organic and chemical compounds, by the nature of their function, are strong. Some may affect the health and safety of users as well as the environment around the restrooms, trailers and trucks they’re used in. One of the most critical of these products is the deodorizer.
Hazardous Materials Resource Note No. 38 was published in August 2000 by the federal government’s Bureau of Land Management. It discusses the issue of such additives as it relates to increasing treatment issues with recreational vehicle holding tank wastes from campsites. Though it’s not exactly the same concerns PROs must deal with, the bureau’s dilemma is similar, as shown by this excerpt:
“Formaldehyde is a relatively simple organic compound, and is biodegradable, breaking down into water and carbon dioxide in one step. It does not control odors by killing the microorganisms that generate them, as is popularly believed. Instead, it reacts chemically with odor-causing compounds to render them less odorous.
“However, the organic strength of most formaldehyde-based deodorizers is so high that the resulting mixture in a holding tank is 15 to 20 times stronger than typical domestic wastewater, even after several days in the tank. Biodegradability is desirable but is not necessarily an indication of ease of or acceptability for treatment. Formaldehyde is likely to be more closely regulated in the future, particularly when part of a wastewater disposal system.”
Given that waste handled by all PROs eventually becomes part of a wastewater disposal system, how do these contractors feel about using formaldehyde-based deodorizers in their units?
“I’ve been earth-friendly since the get-go,” David Baylor says proudly of his portables and septic pumping business. “No harsh chemicals, no brines.” He uses PolyPortables Inc. Green Way deodorizing product line. “We’ve been real happy with it. It seems to do the job in the extreme heat, and even when it’s cold.
“My only problem now is that I need something in the wintertime to keep (the tanks) liquid. What the industry needs is someone to come up with something that keeps tanks from freezing, but is still earth-friendly. No brines, because I land-apply and I have to raise a crop, to take care of the nitrates and the phosphates and all. And I can’t do that with brine.”
Diamond Environmental Services provides portable restrooms, septic and grease trap service and site services. They use a non-formaldehyde deodorizer formula to be in compliance with California’s environmental standards, the most stringent in America.
Matt Copeland has never used a deodorizer with any other formula in 10 years with Diamond, but says, “From what I hear from the older guys, they prefer the newer stuff because of the strong fumes and just unpleasant working properties of the formaldehyde.”
Phil Maas’ company provides portable restrooms, trailers and accessories, along with trash removal in his largely rural territory. He uses non-formaldehyde base formula from Walex Products Company Inc.
Though Maas believes the non-formaldehyde product is better for the environment, his primary concern is employee safety. He always wants to choose the less-toxic alternatives offered by the industry. “I figured (formaldehyde formulas) would eventually be outlawed anyway, so I never have used them.”
