Porta potties come in handy at construction sites, weddings, concerts, and parties. If you need to rent portable toilets for your next project or event, you should consider factors such as accessibility and the length of time you will need them. You’ll also need to consider the number of people they will need to accommodate.
This guide will discuss the ideal number of porta potties you will need for either an outdoor event or construction work, what factors you need to consider before renting, and how much rentals will cost.
Table of contents
- How Many Porta Potties Do You Need for Your Construction Site?
- How Many Porta Potties Do You Need for an Event?
- Porta Potty Requirements
- What Factors to Consider Before Renting a Porta Potty
- How Much Does It Cost to Rent a Porta Potty?
- Rent a Porta Potty Today
How Many Porta Potties Do You Need for Your Construction Site?
Per the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) Standard 1926.51(c)(1) you need at least one porta potty no matter how many employees you have. Once you get above 20 employees, the requirement increases, with one toilet and one urinal required for every 40 employees. That requirement drops to one toilet and one urinal for every 50 employees once you get above 200 total employees.
| Number of Employees | Minimum Number of Porta Potties |
| 20 employees or less | 1 |
| 20-200 employees | 1 toilet and 1 urinal for every 40 employees |
| 200 employees or more | 1 toilet and 1 urinal for every 50 employees |
The American Disabilities Act requires that employers provide one handicap accessible restroom for every 20 portable restrooms.
Also, keep in mind that while OSHA’s standards are the minimum for a jobsite, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI/PSAI Z4.3-2016) has more stringent guidelines, calling for one toilet facility every 10 employees. That requirement drops to one for every 15 employees if the facility is serviced more than once per week.
How Many Porta Potties Do You Need for an Event?
If the porta potties are for an outdoor wedding, party, concert, or some other special event, the number or porta potties per person changes based on time and whether you plan to offer food and beverages. Add 10 to 20% more porta potties if you serve food and beverages. The following guidelines from Portable Sanitation Association International (PSAI) can help you determine how many porta potties you will need.
Here are a few scenarios to help you understand the guidelines:
- Scenario 1: For a small party, if you are expecting under 50 guests without food or beverages for 2 hours, you’ll only need one porta potty available.
- Scenario 2: For a wedding, if you are expecting 250 guests for 6 hours and are providing light cocktails and snacks, you will need 3 to 4 porta potties.
- Scenario 3: For a concert, if you are expecting 20,000 attendees for 8 hours with food trucks, then you may need 220 to 240 porta potties or more.
Porta Potty Requirements
In addition to rules on the number of portable restrooms you must have, there are also some requirements in terms of the porta potties themselves.
Porta Potties Must Be Sanitary
ANSI requires that the facility be serviced once per week. It’s a good idea to create a servicing schedule based on the number of employees at the worksite.
OSHA requires that event organizers provide hand soap, clean towels, and hot/cold running water at hand-washing stations. You can either set up your own hand-washing (or hand sanitizer) stations, or provide event-goers access to nearby washing facilities.
In the case of construction sites where there are hazardous chemicals, you will need to provide proper eye-wash stations or body-drenching equipment no more than 100 feet from the work area.
Porta Potties Must Be Easily and Quickly Accessed
The placement of porta potties is also critical. They must be located no more than 10 minutes from the worksite, according to OSHA regulations.
Porta Potties Must Be Accessible
Employers must also observe the Americans with Disabilities Act, which requires that they provide one accessible restroom for every 20 portable restrooms, or 5% of the total number of portable toilets.
For portable restrooms, you must:
- Provide ramp landings
- Doors must be 32” minimum
- Provide doors with a latch instead of a hinge to make access easier
- Provide toe clearance below partitions for wheelchair users
There are many more requirements you must observe. If there are accessible public facilities near by, you might be able to direct people to them to reduce the need for portable restrooms.
There is no requirement for gender-specific portable bathrooms, nor does an employer have to provide separate toilet facilities. However, the employer is responsible for making sure they are accessible and sanitary.
What Factors to Consider Before Renting a Porta Potty
If you’re thinking of renting a porta potty, here are some of the chief factors to consider.
The Type of Project or Event
Is this for a construction project or for an event? In other words, are you hosting a wedding, concert, or party, or are you trying to set up a job site where your employees will be working? You need to factor in getting your porta potties serviced when they’re being used regularly during 40-hour work weeks as opposed to a 4-hour cocktail hour. The type of event or project can dictate exactly what you need in terms of number and added services.
Amount of Food and Beverages
Does the event involve food and beverages, particularly alcohol? The presence of alcoholic drinks will require you to add 15 to 20% more potty potties. This will reduce the amount of time people have to wait in line to use a porta potty.
The Number of People
The actual number of people who will be at the site is perhaps the biggest factor, as the more people there are, the more porta potties you will need to provide. You should be aware of how many people plan to attend and come up with a plan to handle them all.
The Length of Time You Need It For
For events that are more than 4 hours, you may need to increase the number of porta potties you have (since the percentage of people at the event who will need to use it will probably go up). This may make portable toilet rentals more expensive, however. The length of time also dictates whether you need to make sure your porta potties get serviced.
How Much Does It Cost to Rent a Porta Potty?
As you can see, there are many factors that affect the cost to rent a porta potty, from crowd size to availability to the type of rental company. That makes it difficult to put a general price tag on it. However, generally you can expect to pay $151 a week or $167 a month for a standard porta potty. For an ADA-accessible porta potty, the average cost is $245 a week and $258 a month.
Rent a Porta Potty Today
If you need to access to porta potty rentals, the best place to start is with BigRentz. We have many options to suit your needs and we have experience in providing porta potties both for events and construction sites. Contact us today and we can help you determine how many porta potties you need and quote you a price.
