Parking lots are filthy places. They accumulate pollutants such as oil, grease and toxic chemicals, pesticides from adjacent landscaping, road salts, heavy metals, and bacteria from trash. Run-off from these pollutants ends up in local water systems, and add to overall pollution. A recent report by the National Water Quality Inventory shows that runoff from urbanized areas is the leading cause of water quality impairments to surveyed estuaries.
Other studies show that each parking space in the United States costs $6-$23 annually, in health and environmental damages to society caused by air pollution alone. Added up, this comes to between $4 billion and $20 billion annually. In some suburban areas, parking spaces outnumber drivers, and parking lots as big as small neighborhoods dot the countryside. One answer to this problem is road sweeping services. Street sweeping has been proven effective for removing both large and microscopic pollutants that collect on city streets and parking lots.
Although the street sweeper dates back to the Industrial Revolution, recent technological and mechanical advancements have made it more efficient than ever. Contemporary street sweepers are affixed to truck bodies, and work like a vacuum, rather than like the old-fashioned broom-and-box style. In addition, some sweepers or parking lot cleaners use regenerative air technology that blasts air onto the pavement surface, which loosens additional particles and then vacuums them into the container. Engineers continue to develop innovations in sweeper technology to make them more efficient.
With the increase in parking lots and commercial real estate, road sweeping services are a growing business; the road and highway maintenance industry generates over $42 billion annually in the U.S, with approximately 9,000 companies that offer road sweeping services or parking lot cleaning. Today, road sweeping services are employed publicly and privately in just about every city in the U.S.
Road sweeping services are essential in keeping commercial area clean and attractive, which is in turn essential for business. According to a recent report, many business owners believe that ?well maintained parking areas and sidewalks are key to attracting customers.? For many people, the exterior appearance of a business is as important as the interior cleanliness. This is especially true in regards to attracting passersby as new customers. Hiring a company to provide regular parking lot cleaning services can be influential in increasing your new business.
Road sweeping services and parking lot cleaning are important to the health of a business, as well as the health of the community and the environment. Sweeper trucks can save the trees!