January 2020

The Clean Water Act prohibits discharging pollutants, including concrete wash waste, into our water sources. Historically, there has been little policing of this policy. In recent years, however, the EPA and an increasing number of state agencies and municipalities have begun enforcing regulations on concrete washout waste, motivated by environmental conscientiousness as well as revenues generated by fees. Civil penalties of up to $10,000 a day have been imposed.

Here at Outpak Washout, we continually receive calls regarding jobs that are requiring washouts in their specs. Or worse, someone has had a visit from an inspector which resulted in a citation!

We understand these construction needs. Our washouts were designed by contractors, for contractors.

Outpak Washout is the original, disposable, affordable washout designed for containment of construction site washout material such as concrete sediment, paint, drywall mud, stucco and mortar. Both EPA and BMP compliant, they are easy to use, have a quick set up time and store flat for easy transportation. With five sizes in three different materials, there is an Outpak Washout for all construction needs – mixer, concrete pump truck and wheelbarrows.

Outpak’s Corrugated Washout is made from wet strength Kraft fiberboard, making it light, yet durable. It includes a 6-millimeter poly liner bag and is available in three sizes – 30”x30”x14” high, 4’x4’x14” high, and 6’x6’x11” high.

Outpak’s All-Weather Washout is designed to stand up to the toughest of environments while still maintaining its portability, ease of setup and cost effectiveness. It is made from heavy-duty, woven poly propylene that shrugs off the worst of climates but is still light weight and durable. Features include safety rated lifting straps, additional rain fly and flat-folding capabilities for easy storage. It is available in two sizes – 4’x4’x14” high and 6’x6’x12” high.

The PVC Washout is specifically designed for larger volume concrete pump and mixer trucks. The 10-ounce PVC fabric is UV and weather-resistant, holding up to 600 gallons of washout.

Available in two sizes, 6’x8’x12” high and 8’x10’x12” high, it is also used as secondary containment for 55-gall drums and generator equipment.

Outpak also offers Slurry Solution, Spill Kits and Plan Bags to make your construction site compliant, organized and professional. Visit outpak.com to see all Outpak products and to find a distributor near you.

About Outpak Washout

Outpak CEO and Founder Bob Eason was a concrete contractor in Boise, Idaho for 30 years when he began brainstorming for an economical solution to adhere to the Clean Water Act. The result was the highly successful Outpak Corrugated Washout. Over time, Eason listened to customer feedback regarding his products, resulting in a line of products for all construction washout needs. Visit outpak.com for more information and downloadable specs.

Thanks to the EPA and the Clean Water Act, Outpak Washouts have become the preferred method of compliance for companies in the Construction field for over 10 years. It’s the most obvious reason to use our washout systems, because everyone ultimately wants to be compliant and avoid costly fines.

However, as our products have grown in popularity, our clients have realized there are many other benefits to using a portable, disposable washout for paint, concrete, stucco, and mortar. While we spend most of our time staying up to date on EPA compliance and educating our customers, we thought an article highlighting other benefits would be appropriate. Here are 4 reasons (other than compliance) to use Outpak Washouts.

1. Portability – Outpak Washouts come banded and folded in a patented origami design that allows for easy storage. Once folded, Outpak Washouts are roughly 2 inches thick and can easily be stored behind the cab or strapped to the bed of the truck taking up minimal space. Many of our clients have a washout handy in every truck in their fleet. Once deployed, a corrugated washout can be placed on a pallet for easy transfer. Our All-Weather Washouts include safe working load rated lifting straps for easy transfer.

2. Ease of Use – Outpak Washouts have a unique design that allows the system to be free-standing and watertight. Having a free-standing washout is a big deal for operators, and one of the main reasons we see customers switch to our products. The washout takes roughly 1 minute to deploy and can be set-up by one person.

3. Cost Effective – Many of our clients who made the switch to Outpak realized quickly that our washouts are the most cost-effective washout solution for a jobsite. When a contractor calculates what it would cost to build a washout (supplies, labor, etc.) they soon realize a portable disposable washout is the better option. Additionally, when they are doing renovation work (tenant Improvements) or building in an established area (downtown), a portable washout is not only the most cost-effective option, it’s the only option.

4. Professional Look – The Outpak Washout system was designed to give a jobsite a professional look that a client will appreciate. Customers have mentioned they prefer our washouts because it shows their client that they are professionals who care about keeping the jobsite clean, as well as compliant. Using a Kiddie pool may be a cheaper option than our product. But let’s be honest, a child’s toy on a jobsite does not give a professional look and could be the difference in winning the business or keeping the client happy!

Hopefully this has shed some light on the various benefits of using Outpak Washouts (other than compliance). If you have not yet had the chance to try out our washout systems, please reach out to any of our 200 distributors nationwide and see for yourself. We’re confident you will see the value in Outpak Washouts!

Outpak Washout – Thinking Outside AND Inside the Box

As the North American construction sector continues to grow, environmental concerns spike. Concrete washout is leftover residue created from rinsing concrete truck chutes, and the washout from a construction site is full of toxic materials that should not be anywhere near groundwater sources. There are different solutions in place, but new ones are needed, especially considering growing enforcement of the federal Clean Water Act.

Outpak Washout, the originator of the portable, disposable washout, has a solution that is simple and cost-effective. Company Chief Executive Officer and Founder Bob Eason developed a box for containing concrete washout, and it is poised to make a huge impact in the green initiatives of storm water protection. We spoke with Bob about his ideas and his company.

Bob was a concrete contractor for thirty years in Boise, Idaho. In the early years, environmental regulations were not being readily enforced. But within in the last 15 years, it became mandatory to have a washout area onsite before passing a footing inspection.

“I wanted to learn more about why these regulations were necessary and found out it’s not the concrete being left on the ground, but the high PH level in the slurry water seeping into the water table.”

After this realization, Bob founded Outpak Washout, which manufactures temporary, disposable construction site washouts to be used as part of what the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) refers to as a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP).

“Paying my employees to build a washout was not cost-effect; I needed them to set forms and pour concrete.”

He came up with the idea of a box with a bag liner in it.  “I’m not an engineer, but I liked the look of it when angled. It has a thirty-degree angle which gives it more strength. And I wanted it to be easily transportable so I made the design fold flat,” says Bob. He has a patent on the origami-like folding shape of the box.

There are currently job sites that use large metal roll-offs. These are used for large commercial construction applications.  Outpak Washouts are designed for smaller jobsites with less space for the washout area. “We promote washout containment at all sizes of construction sites. But our washouts are a more portable, temporary and disposable washout for smaller applications like tenant improvements or replacing a driveway in an existing subdivision.

Customers regularly ask about how to move them. Once the concrete has hardened, they can easily be picked up with a forklift or a backhoe. “We try to make them environmental all around. You can recycle them if you choose to.”

Many of the nation’s largest home builders are getting on board with Outpak’s products. “Everybody claims they are environmentally conscious, and this is an excellent way to prove to their customers that they are,” says Bob.

Over the years, Bob has listened to customer feedback and has developed different items. Outpak Washouts come in five sizes and are made of three different materials – to meet the needs of various types of projects.

“I created the All-Weather Washout for areas where there is a lot of rainy weather,” said Bob. It is a polypropylene bag with 5 to 1 rated lifting straps and has a detached rain fly available.

Other items produced by Outpak include two sizes of spill kits, which are used if a hydraulic line ruptures or if there is a radiator spill. There is a blueprint plan bag – a PVC bag with a clear front – which Bob designed for his own crews twenty years ago. It protects blueprints on a worksite from the wind and rain.

The company also carries a product called Slurry Solution, which is an organic blend of polymers that encapsulates the high PH water in the washout, creating an environmentally-friendly material ready for a landfill.

Washout water is called a silent polluter because most people do not consider the implications. Washing out onto a lawn or into a gutter will seep into the water table and can be a $10,000 fine. Dealing with it is a simple matter of educating people about solutions. Because of this, Outpak goes to many stormwater trade shows throughout the country where it meets with regulators, inspectors, EPA people, engineers, and architects.

Bob oversees the Outpak research and development efforts and is constantly coming up with new products. The paint industry is adopting the practice now, too. Painters would normally spray out in a five-gallon bucket and dispose of it somewhere. Now, there are specs calling for a paint washout on job sites for commercial work. Outpak is currently working on some new products to serve the paint industry.

Bob started Outpak from scratch, and now the company works with over 185 distributors, who have more than five hundred branches in the U.S. Outpak also exports to six other countries around the world.

Outpak only sells through distributors and not directly to end-users. Typical customers include environmental erosion control companies, concrete accessory providers, lumber yards, ready-mix companies, and pump companies.

Outpak is getting weekly calls from different parts of the country, in states that are just beginning to enforce the Clean Water Act. “Distributors and end-users are scrambling, looking for a solution, and that’s where our work with these stormwater agencies throughout the country has really paid off. We are the leaders in building this category,” says Bob.