The Logistics of Portable Toilets and Large Events

While you’re thinking about your next large event, such as a music festival, for instance, we know that portable toilets aren’t exactly top of mind while you have so many other items to go over, but at some point, we know that you will be trying to figure out the best place to put them. 

You need a place that is convenient for your customers, while also meeting legal requirements (did you know about those?) You’ll need enough room for the number of toilets you require, as well, and sometimes, the space you think is big enough, may not be. 

Because of all of these reasons, we’ve put together this article to help you figure out exactly what is required when you have to move a large number of portable toilets in and out of your large event space, so you’ll know what to expect.

How Many Portable Toilets Do You Need?

And what type of portable toilet or porta potty is going to be the best for your event, or would you like for your event? These are the kinds of questions we ask when we are helping you out with the logistics of the portable toilets you need for your guests. How many guests will you be expecting and for how long? Our article about the general rule of thumb for the number of porta potties you need goes over these considerations and can help you narrow down that number. 

Once you’ve figured out how many you need, we’ll need to figure out the best location for the potties to go.

Placing Portable Toilets at Your Large Event

Did you know that there are sanitation regulations stating where you can and cannot have porta potties at your event? These regulations are in place to not only deal with how to dispose of the porta potty waste either after or during your event, depending on how long it lasts, but also how accessible they need to be at your venue. By keeping things neat and clean, they are more hygienic and of course, more pleasant for your guests.

Placement Considerations

Ever wondered how do porta potties get emptied? Or how are portable toilets cleaned? Well, we have it down to a science but location plays into how we are able to do our jobs. 

You’ll want to make sure they have a dry, level area to sit on. NO ONE wants to try to use a porta potty that is tipping at an angle, and a level, clear area allows us to perform maintenance and cleaning duties, which makes your guests happier, too.

If you have a large event space, then you have more locations that you can consider for this, which makes things easier. But you’ll still need to keep in mind accessibility for handicapped persons and access for emergency vehicles (you don’t want to slow them down!), so you can’t just put them anywhere.

According to the Americans with Disabilities Act, you’ll need to have at least 5% and absolutely no less than 1 porta potty at your event that is handicap-accessible. These handicap-accessible porta potties must also be clearly marked and readily accessible according to the Act. These units are larger and require more room so it’s something else you’ll need to think about when considering a location. 

You’ll also want to be sure that you space the toilets appropriately across your venue to give everyone access to the toilets as needed. We recommend close to areas where there are food and drinks being sold, while also keeping them discreet because no one wants to see or think about porta potties while they eat, but they will need to use them. People also tend to spend more on food and drinks when they know there are adequate restrooms available, so line-of-sight is an important factor to consider.

Cleaning and Maintenance

Worried about how to empty a porta potty once it is at your venue? “Where does the porta potty waste go?” Well, that’s why we ask you to leave room for our maintenance trucks to have access to the rentals you have on your property. 

During your event, or afterward, we need the space in order to access the toilets to clean, sanitize, and “clear” them. We do this using our trucks equipped with pumps on the back. Our trucks are equipped with two 30’ suction hoses, one on either side of the truck. Make sure your placement will facilitate a large truck parking within this distance of the restrooms if a mid-event service will be required. This waste is then taken away and emptied at locations made for dumping this specific kind of “stuff”.

Do’s and Don’ts

To sum up the do’s and don’ts of porta potty placement, let’s go over the big points:

Do’s

• Do have the number of portable toilets you need in mind.
• Do find a level, dry area to place them all.
• Do think about spacing the toilets out and around the venue.
• Do consider placing portable toilets near to food and drink.
• Do be sure the area is easily accessible by guests and maintenance trucks.
  

Don’ts

• Don’t block emergency vehicles or personnel with the toilets.
• Don’t forget to include at least 1 handicap-accessible or 5% of your total portable toilets.
• Don’t place porta potties too close to food and drink vendors or forget to “hide” them.
• Don’t block the porta potties with other equipment.
  

Once you’ve made all of these considerations, and helped us get the logistics worked out, we’ll be able to deliver your rentals without a problem. Whether you choose our VIP Luxury Restroom Trailers or our other special event units, we really are At Your Service!