Flexible spill containment berms
A spill containment berm is a portable, flexible tray that catches leaks and spills from drums, IBCs, generators, vehicles and equipment before they reach the ground or a drain. Catalogues call the category flexible spill containment berms, to separate it from rigid spill pallets and drip trays. In the UK the same product is a flexible spill containment bund or portable containment bund.
How a flexible berm is built
The floor and walls are cut from PVC-coated polyester fabric and joined with heat-welded seams, so the berm holds liquid without stitching holes. The walls are held up by foam, by brackets, or by the liquid itself.
Empty, the berm folds for storage and transport, and it can be moved from one job to the next.
Sizing in one line
Capacity (US gallons) ≈ inner length (ft) × inner width (ft) × wall height (ft) × 7.48. For a wall height in inches, divide it by 12 first. In metric: length (m) × width (m) × wall height (m) × 1,000 = litres.
Usable capacity is lower, because equipment inside the berm takes up volume and walls flex. How much capacity you need depends on the regulations that apply to your site.
Common wall types
| Wall type | How the wall stands | Best for | Access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foam wall | Foam sealed inside the wall cover keeps the wall upright. | Vehicles, carts and maintenance areas with frequent access; low to moderate volumes. | Drive, push or walk over the wall. It compresses and recovers. |
| L-bracket wall (collapsible) | Loose L-brackets slide into sleeves outside the wall and hold it vertical. | Higher volumes where the berm has to sit close to a wall or racking. | Take the brackets out of one wall to load, then refit them. |
| Stay-supported wall (collapsible) | Triangular stays attached outside the wall fold out and brace it. | Higher volumes in the field, where a loose bracket would get lost. | Fold the stays on one wall flat to load, then raise them again. |
| Drive-through (foam ends, stay sides) | Foam end walls lie flat and float up; the long sides are stay-braced. | Tankers, trucks and plant at vehicle scale, from about 10 × 16 ft up. | Drive straight over the foam end wall, in and out, with nothing to change. |
| Transfer pad (with floor drain) | Any of the wall types above, plus drain fittings through the wall at floor level. | Tanker and railcar loading and unloading, where the berm is emptied between vehicles. | The vehicle works over it; the berm drains through a hose without being moved. |
| Self-rising | The wall lies flat and floats up as liquid enters. | Vehicle wash and fuelling areas that must stay open for traffic. | Drive in and out while the berm is empty. |
We build the braced types: foam wall spill berms, L-bracket spill berms and stay-supported spill berms and drive-through spill berms and tanker and railcar transfer berms. For a wall that rises on its own rather than being put up by hand, see the foam end walls on our drive-through spill berms: they lie flat to be driven over and float up as liquid reaches them.
Fabric weights
North American specifications give fabric weight in ounces per square yard; European ones use grams per square metre. Heavier fabric resists abrasion and punctures better and suits berms that vehicles cross. The fabric itself is a polyester scrim between two PVC coatings — how PVC-coated polyester is built.
| Specified as | g/m² | oz/yd² |
|---|---|---|
| 18 oz/yd² | ≈ 610 | ≈ 18 |
| 22 oz/yd² | ≈ 746 | ≈ 22 |
| 680 g/m² | ≈ 680 | ≈ 20.1 |
| 28 oz/yd² | ≈ 949 | ≈ 28 |
| 900 g/m² | ≈ 900 | ≈ 26.5 |
Weights we offer: 18 oz/yd² (610 g/m²) as standard, or 22 oz/yd² (745 g/m²) heavy duty where the ground or the traffic is rough. We also run 40 oz/yd² (1355 g/m²) for rail work. Colours: Yellow, black, blue, orange and green, at no extra cost and with no separate minimum — the colour is a choice of fabric roll, not a pigment batch, so changing it costs us nothing and we do not charge for it.
Accessories buyers ask for
- Ground tarp: goes under the berm on gravel or rough concrete to prevent punctures.
- Track belt: a wear layer where wheels cross the floor.
- Drain valve: empties rainwater or collected liquid through a hose.
- Replacement foam and repair kit: keep a berm in service after damage.
We make ground tarps, track belts, skirts and repair kits ourselves, cut to your berm size — see the accessories page. Which of them ship with a given berm model is set out on that berm's own page.
Drums standing in place? That is a deck, not a berm
Everything on this page is a tray with walls, sized in feet. If what you actually need is a low platform for one to four drums to stand on, with a grating over a shallow sump, see flexible spill decks — ours fold flat when the grating is lifted out.
Questions about spill berms
What is the difference between a spill berm and a spill bund?
They do the same job. "Spill berm" and "containment berm" are the usual terms in the US and Canada; "spill bund" and "portable bund" are used in the UK, Ireland and Australia.
Can vehicles drive over a spill containment berm?
Foam wall berms are designed for it: the wall compresses under the wheel and recovers. Bracket wall berms are loaded by lowering a wall or removing brackets. Where vehicles cross often, a track belt or ground tarp protects the floor from wear.
Are spill berms "EPA certified"?
No. The US EPA does not certify spill containment products. Under the SPCC rule the facility must provide adequate secondary containment, and a portable berm is one way to do that when it is sized for the containers it serves.
Which liquids can a PVC berm hold?
PVC-coated fabric is commonly used for diesel, lubricating oils and hydraulic fluids. Some fuels, solvents and aromatic chemicals attack PVC. Send the Safety Data Sheet so the material can be checked before you order.
Specifications on this page are confirmed with the factory; anything still marked TBC is a gap we have left visible rather than filled with a plausible number. Checked by the production team at Taizhou Fengxu Textile Industry Co., Ltd. on . How we verify what is on this site.
Tell us what the berm has to contain
Send the inner size or equipment footprint, the liquid, the quantity and the destination. We reply with a quote by email.