green focus on bus washing •
Today’s technology allows for water treatment systems at your wash bay. There are many systems available that allow you to capture your water, clean it and reuse for washing. This would allow a zero discharge, thus saving money and the environment.
Handwashing buses
A three-quarter-inch water hose dispenses 17 gallons of water per minute. Do the math and washing a bus for 30 minutes equates to 510 gallons of water. Each gallon weighs 8.3 pounds, so you may have used over two tons – or 4,200 pounds – of water to wash that bus. Whether you are washing inside your building or outside on your parking lot, the use and cost of water can be a major hidden expense for your facility. Do the analysis and find a major saving, especially when you look at your cost-per-gallon of water. Today’s technology for cleaning buses, no matter if you are using an automatic system, a walk-around single brush unit, pressure washer or old fashioned hand brush, can be a green initiative in your company. It’s a matter of education of water usage, techniques and analysis. With water shortages and environmental impacts this is a growing concern, and one long ignored.
BUSRide
The cost of water varies across the continent, thus it can have different impacts depending on your location. Do you draw water out of a well or lake? We hear from these customers that we don’t pay for water, so not a concern. We have to believe there is a cost to all of us eventually. For most of us the municipality supplies our water through pipes to our facility. Take a minute to examine the water bill and come up with a cost-per-gallon of water. This is not easy, but it’s necessary to determine your cost-per-vehicle of washing. After determining the cost of water you will have to capture the cost of labor, chemicals and supplies, like brushes and cloths, etc. It is understandable why only 1 percent of companies know the actual cost of washing a bus. Overall, bus washing has much more of an impact than most operators’ take time to consider. There is a major affect to both the environment and the bottom line of every company, city and municipality. Take time to consider your footprint on the environment. BR Jack Jackson is President of Awash Systems in Toronto, Canada. He can be reached at jjackson@awashsystems.com. Find Awash Systems at www.awashsystems.com or call (800) 265-7405.
February 2012 27