Leave nothing behind

Thursday, 19 June, 2008

It can be difficult to follow ‘leave nothing behind’ instructions to the letter and not to forget to dispose of human waste if a unit is constantly moving from place to place.
However, such a clearing up task obviously comes within the ‘leave nothing behind’ category, while improper sanitary measures in the field could result in a health risk with the potential to create more casualties than are sustained in actual combat.
Digging a latrine is a tried and tested solution if a unit is in a static environment, but the fluidity of today’s battlefield and the focus on small groupings of soldiers can result in a lapse of standards and create an unsanitary environment in which to operate.
The increasing deployment of mixed gender units can add to the problem, to which Phillips Environmental Products (Stand G220c) offers a solution.
The company has developed PETT (Portable Environmental ToileT), a lightweight, compact system that is easy to set up and has proved to be a sanitary safe system, capable of disposing of human waste. The entire system consists of a tent, collapsible toilet, waste collection (WAG) bags and a backpack carrying case.
Each waste bag contains a compound that works to gel liquids into a more transportable state, eliminates odours and aids decomposition.
As well as being approved by all 50 of the United States, the US Marines have been able to use the bags on overseas deployments without any environmental impact issues.
Since 2003, the US military has procured some 12,500 toilet systems and more than two million WAG bags. Other agencies that have acquired the system include the FBI, firefighters and others concerned with natural disasters.