ISTOBAL allows a Rent a car business to save more than 16.3 million litres of water per year on average, thanks to the incorporation of water recycling systems in its car wash facilities. With its ultrafiltration biological recycler, the company is able to recover 100% of the water used in each wash for later reuse, thus preventing an annual waste equivalent to five Olympic swimming pools per car rental company, as well as reducing the environmental impact of the wash process.
On the occasion of World Water Day, which takes place on 22 March, ISTOBAL is calling for responsible use of the water used to wash rental vehicles with the addition of recycling systems. As a reminder, these systems save on average 190 litres of water per complete program in a car wash tunnel.
Taking into account an average of 89,000 annual washes carried out in a Rent a car company in Spain in the last year, and despite the fact that normal tourism activity has not fully restored, a water wastage of 16,312.93 m3 is avoided, thanks to the installation of a physical recycling plus system for the early wash stages in tunnels, followed by an ultrafiltration biological recycler for feeding the osmosis systems for the final wax-up and rinse-down phases, thus avoiding disposal and minimizing consumption of washing water. By contrast, the lack of water recycling systems would have meant an amount of waste similar waste to leaving a tap open all day for more than three years.
ISTOBAL has also stressed the importance of promoting sustainability in the car wash sector with innovative solutions that respect the environment and do not affect the final finish of the wash process.
The incorporation of water recycling systems in wash facilities is particularly important in cities with high water prices, areas with high water discharge restrictions, in locations with limited water consumption due to drought, as well as in locations with a high volume of tourism during holiday periods and a high number of washes, as is the case for car rental businesses.
In this line, ISTOBAL has emphasised that the inclusion of a recycling system in wash facilities allows for daily activity in the face of water restrictions arising from significant periods of drought.
ISTOBAL’s pioneering biological recycler with ultrafiltration system achieves zero water disposal in the car wash, as it recycles up to 100% of the water in each car wash in its most advanced version. It is the first biological cleaning and recycling equipment capable of treating 100% of the water from the vehicle's exterior wash and obtaining the highest quality for its later reuse in all wash stages, including osmosis in the final finish, where fresh water is traditionally used. It also removes solids, turbidity, 99.99% of bacteria and viruses, and reduces organic load and the presence of surfactants.
Pioneer in the development of sustainable wash solutions
ISTOBAL is a pioneer in the development of sustainable wash solutions for all types of vehicles. Thanks to this effort, in its latest models, ISTOBAL has managed to reduce water consumption in automatic industrial wash equipment by 6%, an 8% reduction in water in state-of-the-art rollovers and 33% in high-pressure jet washes. In addition, ISTOBAL also includes Class I hydrocarbon separation and retention systems in its facilities, to reduce the presence of hydrocarbons in the water by 94% before disposal or reuse.
The company also develops its range of ISTOBAL esens® chemical products in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 ("CLP Regulation"), developing environmentally-friendly wash products using raw materials that meet the highest requirements for biodegradability in force. In addition, many of them hold the most important and demanding sustainability certifications in the world. ISTOBAL has also managed to reduce the presence of plastic in the containers of car wash chemicals by more than 90%, thanks to its Xtract super-concentrated line.
