I haven't seen that drawing in many, many years. I'm about 99% certain that this picture came from an environmental equipment manufacturer in the early 1990's. It was used to show how washing vehicles could cause a problem when selling a wash water recycling system to a business owner. It was never intended to be used for contract cleaners, twenty years ago they were not considered much of a problem. Plus no one had a portable system to sell them.
Back in the 1990's, that same manufacturer use to hold environmental "seminars" around the country and would invite managers from all the local auto shops, fleet maintenance facilities, golf courses, waste management operations, construction companies etc. These events regularly drew in more than a hundred people. A local environmental official would be invited to come in and address the group, then the equipment manufacturer would step up and show how their products would solve the problem. It was a win for the officials because they got the message out, it was a win for the manufacturer because they were able to show how they could solve the problem, and it was informative for the attendees because many of them had no idea what the rules were and how to solve the problem. Some of them bought equipment, some of them stopped washing and many of them decided to hire contract cleaners under the false assumption that this would absolve them of the waste water responsibility. In any event, it was a good example of how users, officials and manufacturers would sit down and have a rational discussion about the problem and try to find a solution. I should make it clear that this was not done by my employer below.
As for the current issues facing this industry, I have many ideas but will not discuss them in an open forum with my employers name in bold letters below. Last time I did that I thought I was going to be run out of here with pitchforks. Its threads like this that make me wish for a bit of anonymity as I and I'm sure others would like to contribute ideas without fear of repercussions.
I will say this though, all of you need to take charge of your industry. Right now is when regulations are being drafted and implemented that will directly affect all of your futures. You can either sit back and accept what is coming down the pipe, or you can get active and meet with your officials that will be responsible for writing and enforcing the regulations you will soon have to live with. I've always believed that you can work with these people so long as they understand that you have a job to do and that you understand some regulation is necessary. They need to know there is a big difference between washing shopping carts and a bulldozer. You may need to know what kind of hazardous metals are on some of the things you wash. If you work to find the common ground, you may find the regulations much easier to live with rather than working with regulations that are formulated without your input. It is much easier to plead your case before the rules are on the books than after they have already been written.
