Fluids for portable camping toilets

Transcription

1 Fluids for portable camping toilets Liquides pour toilettes de camping portables By Linda Gedink, 2018

2 Fluids for portable camping toilets Most caravans and motorhomes are equipped with a portable camping toilet, which can be emptied at the campsite or at equipped motorhome aires. In order to prevent smell from this cassette toilets, campers use fluids. These fluids use anaerobic degradation to prevent odor, either - by biocidal agents that inhibit all bacteria (mostly formaldehyde), or - through substances that cause the aerobic degradation while inhibiting the anaerobes. The first are countering biological sewage processes (as they eliminate all bacteria), the latter have no effect on it.

3 Fluids for portable camping toilets There is a vast range of products on the market, market leaders are Thetford with Aqua Kem Blue / Aqua kem Green and Elsan with Blue, Pink and Organic. Blauer Engel / Blue Angel Label (Umweltzeichen RAL UZ 84) exists for this type of products, Aqua Kem Green bears it. These fluids are also called chemicals, this wording is not very favourable as it has a negative connotation.

4 The issue in Luxembourg In Luxembourg all types of companies are classified according to their potential impact on the environment. There are several categories and campsites range in classe 1, entailing the most severe requirements. New legislation has been established to protect water reserves and water protection areas are defined. This legislation is particularly severe for campsites because of the produits chimiques (the chemical fluids) for portable camping toilets, are estimated to impact very negatively in case of spillage and entering soil.

5 What happens to the fluids? Following existing legislation, campsites in Luxembourg, dispose of the content of the portable toilets in two ways: - either they have a closed tank where the liquids are collected, then emptied by specialised companies and brought to larger sewage treatment plant or - the portable toilet sink is connected to the regular sewage drain leading to a sewage treatment plant (French : station d épuration; German : Kläranlage) that has a capacity of > population equivalent or unit per capita loading, (PE) (*) (French : equivalent-habitant; German : Einwohnergleichwert) (*) Wikipedia : Population equivalent or unit per capita loading, (PE), in waste-water treatment is the number expressing the ratio of the sum of the pollution load produced during 24 hours by industrial facilities and services to the individual pollution load in household sewage produced by one person in the same time.

6 What is asked in the future? According to the Ministry of Environment, Department of Water Management (Administration de la Gestion de l Eau, Wasserwirtschaftsamt), all campsites (and not only those in water protection areas) should : - change their tanks to double-walled ones, with a leak detection system - have these tanks emptied by specialised firms and the content brought to a sewage station > PE

7 Costs and problems Double-walled tanks do exist on the market, but they have to ensure safe storage of waterpolluting liquids (French : stockage en toute sécurité de liquides qui peuvent polluer les eaux; German : sichere Lagerung wassergefährdender Flüssigkeiten) and they have to be resistant to these particular chemical liquids. As tanks for disposal of portable toilets are often next to the washrooms on the campsite, the lorries of the specialised firms will have to come onto the campsite, manoeuvre between tents and caravans, do their (often smelly) business several times during the season between people that are enjoying their holidays.

8 Costs and problems Sewage treatment plants are not happy to receive the concentrated contents, they have to keep a balance in their treatment chemistry. So they have to plan extra storage to stock the liquids and add them in small portions to the overall sewage treatment Campsites : Costs for the specialised tanks, leak detecting devices, costs for roads that can handle the lorries and enable them to turn around, plus recurring costs for the transport. Sewage plants : Costs for extra storing tanks, those costs have a direct impact on the water price that the campsites have to pay in the end.

9 Solutions? Camprilux tries to convince the Ministry of environment to change their plans, but it is difficult to have arguments against the protection of the water. We are compiling data in order to prove how expensive the plans will be. We have a good ally in the sewage plants, as they prefer to receive the contents more diluted as it is now.

10 Solutions? German DWA (Deutsche Vereinigung für Wasserwirtschaft, Abwasser und Abfall e.v.) are writing a new paper about regulations for the disposal of contents of mobile toilets with sanitary additives on a sewage treatment plant ( Regelwerk zur Entsorgung von Inhalten mobiler Toiletten mit Sanitärzusätzen auf Kläranlage ) and we hope this can be a support. The old paper (from 1997) said : The pollution load, which must be properly treated in the treatment plant, is essentially in the faeces. The fluids are used so heavily diluted that they hardly affect the dirt load (Deutsch : Die Schmutzfracht, die in der Kläranlage ordnungsgemäß behandelt werden muss, steckt im wesentlichen in den Fäkalien. Die Sanitärkonzentrate werden so stark verdünnt eingesetzt, dass sie sich auf die Schmutzfracht kaum auswirken )

11 Solutions? Of course, the best solution would be a ban on the bacteria-killing fluids on EU-level. Bans on Roundup -type products have opened the way but also shown that it needs a strong lobby. Maybe a way could be found with the industry, they all have an alternative green product which doesn t use the bacteria-killing substances (e.g. Aqua Kem Green with the Blauer Engel label; Organic from Elsan). But since biocidal agents have shown to be more reliable in their effect and, as a rule, cheaper too, one must assume that this type of sanitary fluids are more popular. However, it would be a good greenwashing strategy for Thetford or Elsan.

12 Camprilux pro-active work Already in 2004, Camprilux made signs for all its members to be placed next to the disposal points, encouraging the guests to use fluids with a green label, to use vinegar instead if daily emptied and to use the campsite toilets whenever possible. Also, our members only sell the green version in their shops, and we buy them all together to get a better price. We have now re-edited these signs and updated them to 2018

13 Can we do something as EFCO&HPA? Would it be useful to prepare an EFCO&HPA strategic paper about the issue of banning the products with biocidal agents and send it to the EU Commission and to green politicians within the EU Parliament? Would it be useful to seek contact with Thetford and Elsan and try to convince them about the unique opportunity to be considered a green industry ahead of any EU plans?

14 Thank you Linda Gedink Secretary General of Camprilux Luxembourg