Oh Crap! Maine Facing Possible Porta-Potty Shortage

As Maine, and the rest of the world, slowly returns to normal, we are beginning to see a new crisis - a possible shortage of porta-potties.

Believe it or not, in some ways it is actually a good thing!

For the last year and a half, thousands of these plastic outhouses sat in storage spaces, unused.  The fairs and festivals they were typically used for had all been cancelled or postponed due to the on-going pandemic.

Now, as we see the returns of concerts, festivals, and fairs, there is a massive increase in the demand for portable toilets.  And, it is not just the return of these events, the fact that some construction projects are taking longer than normal (for various reasons), the toilets are remaining at these sites.

According to the KJ, an employee of South Portland-based Troiano Waste Services has said they are also having issues due to a delay in the delivery of an order they placed for 100 new porta-potties.  Additionally, Troiano is also seeing problems caused by the labor shortage.

PolyJohn, a company that makes portable toilets say they are having issues delivering on orders for new toilets because of a shortage in plastic and a shift they had made in the focus of the company.  In 2020, due to the enhanced sanitary needs brought on by the pandemic, the company had made the switch to producing plastic washbasins.  Additionally, PolyJohn is also seeing an issue with labor.

Hopefully, the porta-potty market will normalize before we get into the height of fair and festival season.