Fleetwash, Inc

FLEETWASH started its washing operation in 1973. The need for a mobile service was evident in the quickly expanding transportation and distribution industry in the greater New York City area. Many spawning companies had growing truck fleets that all needed to be cleaned, and the original mobile truck washing idea took off and grew rapidly. 

Today Fleetwash is the largest, national mobile truck washing & facility service company.

Fleetwash started its washing operation in 1973. The need for a mobile service was evident in the quickly expanding transportation and distribution industry in the greater New York City area. Many spawning companies had growing truck fleets that all needed to be cleaned, and the original mobile truck washing idea took off and grew rapidly through the 70's and continued to grow into the 80's.

In the late 80's and early 90's a new awareness arose concerning the washing of vehicles. New government agencies were showing themselves and industries found themselves developing an environmental awareness. The Clean Water Act moved into spotlight and much attention was drawn to activities that released pollutants into the waterways of the States.

Several of our high profile customers, long before they were visited by any government enforcement officers, initiated concerns involving wastewater and its effect on ground and stormwater pollution. They realized that the bad publicity attached to polluters was something to be avoided.

The Fleetwash Water Recovery Process consists of four steps: Isolation, Collection, Transportation and Elimination

ISOLATION

In order to pick up the waste water, it has to first be channeled and pooled using booms or dikes. Drain seals are extremely critical to a successful recovery operation. These seals have themselves evolved from simple rubber mats to a custom sized, pliable latex formula custom-poured in our facility. These mats completely seal off storm drains, eliminating the possibility of contaminated water entering the sewers and waterways.

COLLECTION

Once contained, waste water has to be physically removed from the parking surface. In the early days of development, waste water was picked up by electric sump pumps, but these required generators and lengths of cable that proved unsafe in the wet washing conditions. Research led us to technology used by the carpet cleaning industry: a high powered air blower used to create suction in a vacuum tank.

Our current system is based on this technology. It allows us to use up to 400 feet of hose if necessary, and is powerful enough to keep up with four separate pressure washers. This vacuum system is mounted in the same vehicle as the pressure washer and the two processes are fully integrated. All our vacuum and washing equipment is manufactured in our own facility in Fairfield, New Jersey, and Phoenix AZ. and is constantly upgraded in response the changing needs of the field.

TRANSPORTATION

The vacuum system collects all the waste water in a tank either in the wash van or in a separate vac-tank truck. The wash vans carry 150 gallons of waste water and the vac-tanks carry 500 gallons. Tank vehicles have a separate vacuum system to add to the effectiveness of the system, they are capable of recovery on their own. All waste tanks are sealed and locked to prevent spilling or unauthorized dumping. Only supervisors and operations managers have the keys to these tanks. Supervisors operate the tank vehicles and collect the waste water from different sites in addition to inspecting the work quality. Supervisors are held personally responsible for unauthorized releases of waste water.
Certain states require Solid Waste Transport Licenses on all vehicles carrying waste water. The fees for these licenses vary, but they average around $300 annually per truck. Transport vehicles are licensed in order for the government agencies to track waste streams. Volumes and dates are submitted annually to notify the authorities of the transportation and finally the elimination of all waste. Disposal sites are named on these reports.
The cost of transportation is greatly reduced since the wash vehicle is also the transport vehicle. This vehicle has to return to our facility at days end and then the waste water is dumped and treated for elimination.

ELIMINATION

The final step in the total recovery process is elimination, the most important and most difficult part of the process.
Although isolation, collection and transportation of waste water are accomplished by many other companies, the proper final elimination is the most critical process and is usually their downfall. Fleetwash has experimented with several different approaches to the elimination process over many years. After early attempts at evaporation-based and recycling water recovery systems, we have arrived at our current method using filters, settling tanks, and chemical treatment combined with a sanitary drain discharge.
The transported waste water is brought to our facility and pumped into holding tanks. After a settling period, it is pumped through a series of filters, an oil absorbent material to trap hydrocarbons, and pH correction equipment if necessary. The effluent is finally pumped into the sanitary drain for elimination.
The most critical issue is the permit and meeting all the required parameters that makes it legal to discharge to sanitary. Each municipality has a different sewer plant and each plant writes its own rules and regulations. Different tests are routine and are easily met with the correct filters and oil absorbing media in the right place. The difficult tests are those that have recently emerged, as sewer authorities also become more sophisticated. The new tests include: Dissolved Sulfides, Cyanide, Chloroform, Sodium, and Benzene. Last but not least, many authorities are adding metals to their list of unlawful discharges. These metals include: Arsenic, Boron, Cadmium, Chromium, Copper, Lead, Mercury, Silver and Zinc to name a few.
Metals like Lead and Zinc are often found in incoming drinking water at levels higher than allowed at some sewer discharge levels. Metals such as Cadmium and Zinc are often found in vehicle cleaning compounds in levels over the acceptable discharge levels. The process that is used to remove these metals from the waste water is called flocculation. Chemicals are added to the system and agitated. After a period of time, solids drop out of the solution and the 'clean' effluent is discharged in batches. The sludge that is generated here is classified as non-hazardous and is drummed for legal disposal. This process is time consuming, costly and labor intensive. This process does work and is presently in use at all of our facilities.
Sewer authorities are becoming more and more strict in order to meet guidelines placed on them by the Federal Government. Many sewer authorities sell the sludges they generate as landfills and fertilizers, and must meet stringent Federal Regulations. Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission in New Jersey and the City of Orlando Sewer Authority in Florida are just two of many authorities that are selling their effluent.
Sanitary sewer connections can become an expensive method of elimination. Sewer Authorities will monitor a sanitary connection monthly. This involves monthly lab analyses that can be very expensive. The Authorities can mandate the use of equipment and monitoring devices to placed in your facility at your expense. 24 hour pH monitors and recorders are required in several of our facilities. In addition, a 24-hour composite sampler has also been installed in several facilities to draw a sample for a lab analysis. This equipment is expensive and requires constant maintenance. All this equipment and all these lab tests add considerably to operational costs.
Customers have asked us to use existing drains (such as floor drains) on their property for the elimination of their waste, but the only drains our operators are directed to use are either Fleetwash Facility drains or a customer that has a valid sanitary discharge permit of its own with their own treatment plant. Such a permits are rare, however, and our Company policy is to avoid the use of drains that we do not own, since it is nearly impossible to tell what that floor drain leads to.
Floor drains that are connected to oily-water separators are often mistaken for acceptable dump sites, but they are not acceptable. Oily-water separators were designed to do just what their name says, separate oil from water; however, truck cleaning involves soap or detergent besides oil and water. This dumping is in fact illegal and violators can be cited with felony charges.
The entire Fleetwash system of water recovery has been reviewed and approved by the D.E.P. in New Jersey, the D.E.C. in New York, the D.E.R. in Pennsylvania, and the D.O.E. in Maryland. The process is also used in Delaware, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Mississippi, Kentucky, Arkansas, Georgia, Florida, Arizona, Texas, Alabama, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Nevada California, Oregon, Connecticut, Oklahoma and Colorado.