The new year is bringing in new rules that some say could prove too expensive for independent food carts. Portland has a proud food cart culture. Portland food pods are numerous and profitable to many owners. However, food carts in Portland may be in trouble due to new state wastewater disposal rules.
Many well-liked carts in Portland saw the writing on the wall and closed last year. This happened before the new rules took effect. Some were also unhappy with the new rules because while they’ve been in the works for years, some food cart owners say they only found out about them in August.
The new rules have forced some of the city’s world-renowned carts to close temporarily while they figure out whether and how to comply. When it comes to commercial food wastewater disposal, the general approach—from the EPA to state and local regulations—prohibits businesses from dumping untreated wastewater into municipal sewage drains or other waters. As a result, many food businesses—food carts included—hire companies to dispose of such waste.
Daily wastewater disposal can cost $70—several times the existing cost. Hooking up a pod to a municipal wastewater line can cost a property owner tens of thousands of dollars. Owners of many food carts are struggling to figure out how to pay for the new disposal expenses.
Existing disposal charges for carts have been around $80 per week and often involve carts emptying waste regularly into an on-site wastewater “cube” that can hold hundreds of gallons of wastewater and is emptied weekly. But the new rules effectively ban such cubes and only allow carts to store small amounts of wastewater in onboard tanks.
