The Federal Way News located in Washington State recently wrote an article that car wash operators and charity organizers ought to perk up to. It’s that time of year again when community organizations and small groups come out in force washing cars to raise money for their varied causes. While many smaller organizations depend on the funds raised by these makeshift carwashes, they can hurt business for professional carwashes, and it turns out that they’re bad for the environment too. According to the article:

…before you send all that oily, soapy water down the storm drain, Federal Way’s Surface Water Management Division and the Puget Sound Car Wash Association (PSCWA) want to remind you that not only is this very harmful to wetlands, streams, and lakes, but it is also a violation of state, local, and federal pollution laws.

Unlike the sanitary sewer systems, water that runs into the storm drains goes directly to lakes, streams, and wetlands with little or no treatment.

Runoff from car washes is highly toxic to aquatic life and is one of the reasons that streams are not as healthy as they should be. [read more...]

At the end of the day, professionally operated carwashes are typically more environmentally friendly than non-professional washes. The article recommends that fund raising groups team up with professional washes who will donate some of the proceeds. From a marketing standpoint, while not likely to make as much money when donating proceeds to charity, a car wash that works with community service groups has an excellent way to generate free advertising and positive publicity while attracting new customers.