Boston port-a-potty demand a byproduct of development boom

The demand for port-a-potties in the Boston area has spiked as the region’s echoing development boom means more and more people have to go on the job.

An estimated 10 to 15 vendors are servicing that demand right now, and their numbers tell the tale, per Dugan Arnett at the Globe:

In Woburn, for instance, Throne Depot, a portable-toilet rental agency known for its bright orange units and humorous logo, has been expanding exponentially. After starting the company a decade or so ago with just 26 toilets, co-owners Michael Cormier and Steve Brodeur have increased their fleet to 2,100—500 of which the company acquired just last year.

Federal regulations require at least one john per 20 construction workers, meaning some larger Boston-area developments might end up calling for hundreds of temporary loos.

Business is great, then, for vendors, but they do take a lot of crap. Finding workers to clean the commodes is understandably difficult; and, as sources told Arnett, if there’s one thing hardhats are going to gripe about, it’s the port-a-potties. People.

• Another side of the construction boom: the porta-potty business has gone wild [Globe]
• 18 Boston-area developments to watch in 2018, mapped [Curbed Boston]