When the New Mexico Department of Corrections started receiving complaints about its inmate work crews, they knew they had to make a change.  Drivers traveling through the rural roads of New Mexico were disgruntled about seeing inmates, who were working on the side of highway, urinate right in plain sight.  It was an issue the DOC couldn't brush to the side.

“It kind of made the topic come up on the radar screen,” said George Drake, Deputy Director of Probation and Parole.  “We talked about it in executive meetings and there was a directive to find a solution to this problem.”

Luckily for the DOC, at about the same time, Drake attended a meeting of the Office of Law Enforcement Technology Commercialization where the answer to New Mexico's problem appeared right before his eyes.  There, he discovered Phillips Environmental Products, Inc.'s Portable Environmental Toilet (PETT).

The PETT system is a lightweight, portable, dry toilet, similar in height and size to a standard toilet.  It folds up into a briefcase-size carrying case and comes with disposable bags and a privacy shelter.

“It's spill proof, odorless, hygienic, environmental friendly and it's portable,” said Brian Phillips, Vice-President of Phillips Environmental Products, Inc.

According to Drake, the PETT system seemed to be a much better alternative to the portable johns the department had been leasing and transporting along with inmate work crews to the remote locations where they were helping the highway department install chain link fences.

“They were always falling over.  They were always making a mess,” Drake said.  “[And] they are expensive to lease.”  

Unlike the porta-potties, he said, the PETT systems are “exactly what we need” for inmate work crews.

According to Phillips, the toilets have a three-legged design, which enables them to remain sturdy, even outside on rough terrain.  And they deploy for use in about a minute, with a privacy tent to conceal users.

But the key feature of the product, Phillips said, is that people use their own, biodegradable waste bags as toilet bowls, which zip shut and can be transported safely.  The waste bags, or WAG (waste alleviation and gelling) bags, are lined with an organic powder that causes waste to gel.

“When you use it, the waste is immediately solidified so there are no free liquids,” Phillips said.  “[It is] a stable gel.”

Because the WAG bags turn human waste into a solid gel, Phillips said the PETT system may have a use in corrections beyond inmate work crews.

“[The PETT system can be used] when somebody is quarantined to examine waste because they swallowed contraband,” Phillips said.  “You are able to examine the waste safely and hygienically without having any contact with it.”

In Florida, corrections officials are interested in this application of the product.  They are scheduled to meet with the company in mid-November to review the PETT system.

According to James Upchurch, Bureau Chief for Security Operations for the Florida DOC, department policy requires that if an inmate is suspected of having swallowed any type of contraband, he or she must be placed on special watch for a period of time and provided with a bedpan.  Once the inmate has passed waste into the bedpan, an officer must wear rubber gloves and use a tongue depressor to examine it for contraband.

“That is probably the procedure in most [correctional facilities],” said Upchurch.  “If [the PETT system] does what it is supposed to, then it avoids all that [action by the staff], which is probably one of the most distasteful assignments an officer can have.”

Upchurch said an inmate uses a PETT system to go to the bathroom, then the officer can just seal the WAG bag and use it as an evidence carrier.

“You can actually just hold the bag up to the light and you can see if there is contraband in it,” Upchurch said.  “I think it offers a lot of potential if it does what they say it will.”

Like New Mexico corrections officials, Upchurch sees the PETT system's potential for inmate work crews in Florida, too, where that state has roughly 150 Community Work Squads.

“If it works out, as we've been advised, that it is really inexpensive, it could save us money in the work squad context,” said Upchurch, noting that Florida also hauls porta-potties on trailers along with inmates to their work locations.

And another convenient feature of the PETT systems, when they are being used for the work crews, Phillips said, is that the WAG bags can be disposed of in any trash receptacle. 

“The bag itself is biodegradable; it's landfill approved,” Phillips said.  “[You] can legally dispose of the bags in any garbage can.”

Because of its many uses, Phillips believes that it is a perfect product for corrections agencies.

“It seems to be exactly what they are looking for,” he said.

After testing out the product in New Mexico, Drake agrees.

“We gave it a good strong thumbs up,” Drake said.  “It has great applications in corrections.”

Resources:

www.thepett.com

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