Decision Factors — Separate Industry or
Joint Municipal Waste Treatment
FRANCIS A. SANDERS, Executive Vice President
Roy F. Weston Engineers
West Chester, Pennsylvania
INTRODUCTION
This paper will point out some of the advantages and disadvantages to both
industry and communities relative to the question of whether an industry should
treat its own wastes or send them to a community sewerage system. Further, it
will show many of the factors which play a part in this decision. Finally, it will
indicate what a consulting engineering firm can do and some of the methodology
used to assist an industry or a community in arriving at the best answer to the
question.
GENERAL PHILOSOPHY FOR DECISION
When considering this question, there is a general philosophy for decision
which forms the framework for the problem at hand.
Industry and the community are attempting to work together to achieve mutual benefits. A spirit of cooperation should prevail. An industry is not an entity
unto itself and neither is a community without industry. Industry depends upon a
local community for its manpower resources, its recreation, its homes, for the
many products which the industry and its people consume and for the other : services and privileges enjoyed by a community (1). On the other hand, an industry contributes mucn to a community through employment of its people, taking part in
the many interests, providing leadership and development of the community and
by paying taxes. It should be remembered, too, that a community comes into
being for the purpose of providing services to its collective members because
these centralized services are considered more economical and effective than
each member providing his own services.
We can see, then, that the overall principle is that the industry is a part of
the community, its workers are the community, it pays taxes to the community,
and it is entitled to receive service as a member of that community as much as is
possible through cooperation and mutual benefit to one another.
Furthermore, we have reached a period in time in which there are cogent
reasons to attempt to combine services wherever feasible. The water pollution
and air pollution problems need regionalized planning which is keyed to broad
areas and total water basins. As you are well aware, these problems are not only
cutting across city, suburb and county lines but across many states. For this
reason, considerable encouragement by the Federal Government and States is being given to joint treatment in all forms.
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