Can we talk Porta Potties?

[karabrugger]

As a first time burner, we're planning our attack into the massive land grab. Ideally I'd like to be in sight of the potties I believe, but not on top of them. Where are they normally located? Does each block have some? I don't want to have to walk a mile to the porta potties with an over active bladder.

[Token]

You will get a map when you enter the event. It will show the locations of the JOTS.

[dr.placebo]

On the other hand, there is some past evidence. If the allotment is like last year, then every spoke will get 2 potty banks. If memory serves, one was near C street and one was near F street, but the exact location could easily shift. There are some additional banks out near the man and the temple, and things get a bit weird around center camp (the spokes get harder to find).

This means that almost all camps should be within a 5 minute walk of a potty bank.

Of course, placement in the past is no guarantee.

[Eric]

There's a Google earth map with the rough layout of the pots here:
http://bbs.keyhole.com/ubb/ubbthreads.p ... ost1357214

The male/female figures are the potties.

[TomServo]

I think they're normally a couple blocks out from the esplenade....at each hour.

[Elorrum]

I worried a bit about this too. I found that they seem to be within a few blocks of wherever you are when you wander around the city, and it was more like... "oh there's some more portapotties, do I want to stop?" than it was "my god, how much further, where the hell?" They are well noted in the map you get. I camp about a block more or less from the nearest ones, and I do fine. You can certainly camp closer, and as you go further out towards the outer rings, you could probably have an easier time finding something close to the JOTS. Too close, and it can be a bit fragrant... but that's up to you. Maybe right next door to them doesn't fill up so fast.... never paid a lot of attention to it.

[Token]

It can change year to year depending on block depth.

Esplanade is double deep this year and all other blocks are a full 200'.

First block of JOTS could be C, D or E.

No way to know until you smell them.

[cahlm]

Be weary of the "porta potty mirage" on your way back from the trash fence. It will get you every time. I curse that fucking installation every year...

[karabrugger]

Dare I ask what that is? Or is it one of those things that I'll just have to find out about?

[teardropper]

Be weary of the "porta potty mirage" on your way back from the trash fence. It will get you every time. I curse that fucking installation every year...

Heh heh heh...

[cahlm]

Dare I ask what that is? Or is it one of those things that I'll just have to find out about?

Even if you're told what it is, it won't matter. It WILL prevail.

[Sham]

As a first time burner, we're planning our attack into the massive land grab.

A couple of helpful hints. The total land that this event takes place on is 7 square miles. The longer outter ring roads are (what I estimate) are 4 miles long. There is no need to go crazy trying to get good spots near a porta potty. There will be many. Some people prefer to be far from them. Also, you may wants to keep a large nalgene bottle in your tents to relieve that blatter when you are not up for a walk.
Another thing is you won't be spending all your time in your camp, and you'll be able to find potties all over the place.

Beware the mirage, grasshopper!

[maggiemayday]

Dare I ask what that is? Or is it one of those things that I'll just have to find out about?

Even if you're told what it is, it won't matter. It WILL prevail.

I pee on it out of spite.

[DrPeffer]

For my money, the real annoyance of the JOTS is the never-ending CLACK! CLUNK! CLANK! of the doors swinging open and shut...All day and night. I've not noticed odor to be an issue when nearby.

As for your distance: If you just plunk down anywhere, you'll be somewhere within 1/4 mile of one.

Definitely keep a jug in your sleeping quarters (and a pee funnel, if you're of the lady persuasion): That way, you don't have to greet every morning with a bleary-eyed sprint/ride through the cold air for a few minutes just to pee, before you've even said 'boo' to the day.

Then again, I've had some of my most peaceful, happy moments on The Playa doing just that...

[oneeyeddick]

Dare I ask what that is? Or is it one of those things that I'll just have to find out about?

Even if you're told what it is, it won't matter. It WILL prevail.

I pee on it out of spite.

I did twice.

I thought there were two different installations, but I was merely lost at the time.

[Bluemandrew]

Even if you're told what it is, it won't matter. It WILL prevail.

I pee on it out of spite.

I did twice.

I thought there were two different installations, but I was merely lost at the time.

How much piss do you think that thing collects every year?

[Zolita]

Get a pee jug for your tent that closes up very very tightly. Make sure the opening is wide enough... Label it "pee" so no one mistakes it for some tasty Gatorade or Pedialite. I had a canvas bag to carry it to the potty. This saved me sooo many times when it just wasn't time to leave the tent in the perceived "wee" hours.

[TomServo]

Get a pee jug for your tent that closes up very very tightly. Make sure the opening is wide enough... Label it "pee" so no one mistakes it for some tasty Gatorade or Pedialite. I had a canvas bag to carry it to the potty. This saved me sooo many times when it just wasn't time to leave the tent in the perceived "wee" hours.

For shits and giggles, DON'T label it!

[shroom]

Being female I opted for the kitty litter bucket for my tent. Worked great and no late night run to the jots. Tossed the whole bucket in a dumpster far far away from BM on my way home.

[Elderberry]

Being female I opted for the kitty litter bucket for my tent. Worked great and no late night run to the jots. Tossed the whole bucket in a dumpster far far away from BM on my way home.

I'm not criticizing you, but I think that is technically illegal. Isn't human waste considered hazardous biological material and subject to proper hazardous waste disposal laws?

[C.f.M.]

Being female I opted for the kitty litter bucket for my tent. Worked great and no late night run to the jots. Tossed the whole bucket in a dumpster far far away from BM on my way home.

Pee funnel + jug or a coffee can work just as well.

[TomServo]

Being female I opted for the kitty litter bucket for my tent. Worked great and no late night run to the jots. Tossed the whole bucket in a dumpster far far away from BM on my way home.

Pee funnel + jug or a coffee can work just as well.

"Lady J" i think is the official name. there is a camp that provides them.

[VeganChoirGirl]

Being female I opted for the kitty litter bucket for my tent. Worked great and no late night run to the jots. Tossed the whole bucket in a dumpster far far away from BM on my way home.

Pee funnel + jug or a coffee can work just as well.

"Lady J" i think is the official name. there is a camp that provides them.

Ok, my take on the portos:

From what I understand from Robbidobbs we have about 1000, give or take a few, porto potties in BRC. They are pumped often, so until the very end of the week when the population is really exploding, they are pretty decent.

(baring of course, some sparkle pony who took too many substances and literally shits on every wall and surface in the porto...)

Where ever you camp you should be relatively close to a bank of portos. I think they are super smelly, so I would advise camping AWAY from them. A block up or down and upwind is the best.

I TOTALLY agree that a pee bottle and a pee funnel (if you are a lady) are SUPER necissary. The pStyle is the best one BY FAR. CFM, Stitch, and I will sing their praises far and wide!! They have been discontinued, but if you get your butt in gear you should be able to snag one from myworldhut.com.

A few rules for news about using the potties:

This is not a rave, this is not a carnival, BRC is your HOME for the week. SO, PLEASE sit your donkey DOWN on the seat every time you use it. I know its scary, but these portos CAN remain clean ALL WEEK if we treat them with respect. Carry leave no trace into every part of your week. If you refuse to sit, please bring some kind of sanitary wipe to clean off the seat and then HAUL IT AWAY WITH YOU!

Do not put anything but single ply tp and bodily fluids in the portos. If you ACCIDENTALLY drop a flashlight in or a camera or whatever, don't go fishing for them (that's a huge hazardous waste pile, you will likely get VERY sick), leave a note WELL SECURED to the back of the porto in question letting the pump trucks know that there is something that SHOULD NOT BE IN THE POTTY. If you see the trucks coming, simply wait and let them know. They can then correctly remove the waste and not harm their trucks.

Do not dispose of excess grey water in the portos. That is NOT supposed to be in there. Remember, if it doesn't come from your body it doesn't belong in the potty.

Do not SCRATCH things into the surfaces of the portos. I have been told that writing on the walls on the inside of the portos brings great amusement to the people that clean them, just do it with marker, DON"T scratch it in. Then they have to sand down the surface and that shortens the life of the porto.

Finally, adopt a porto with the people you are camping near. Make sure it's stocked, check it out, clean it up, and help keep the people of BRC shitting in style.

Hope that is helpful!
edited for spelling

[TomServo]

Pee funnel + jug or a coffee can work just as well.

"Lady J" i think is the official name. there is a camp that provides them.

Ok, my take on the portos:

From what I understand from Robbidobbs we have about 1000, give or take a few, porto potties in BRC. They are pumped often, so until the very end of the week when the population is really exploding, they are pretty decent.

(baring of course, some sparkle pony who took too many substances and literally shits on every wall and surface in the porto...)

Where ever you camp you should be relatively close to a bank of portos. I think they are super smelly, so I would advise camping AWAY from them. A block up or down and upwind is the best.

I TOTALLY agree that a pee bottle and a pee funnel (if you are a lady) are SUPER necissary. The pStyle is the best one BY FAR. CFM, Stitch, and I will sing their praises far and wide!! They have been discontinued, but if you get your butt in gear you should be able to snag one from myworldhut.com.

A few rules for news about using the potties:

This is not a rave, this is not a carnival, BRC is your HOME for the week. SO, PLEASE sit your donkey DOWN on the seat every time you use it. I know its scary, but these portos CAN remain clean ALL WEEK if we treat them with respect. Carry leave no trace into every part of your week. If you refuse to sit, please bring some kind of sanitary wipe to clean off the seat and then HAUL IT AWAY WITH YOU!

Do not put anything but single ply tp and bodily fluids in the portos. If you ACCIDENTALLY drop a flashlight in or a camera or whatever, don't go fishing for them (that's a huge hazardous waste pile, you will likely get VERY sick), leave a note WELL SECURED to the back of the porto in question letting the pump trucks know that there is something that SHOULD NOT BE IN THE POTTY. If you see the trucks coming, simply wait and let them know. They can then correctly remove the waste and not harm their trucks.

Do not dispose of excess grey water in the portos. That is NOT supposed to be in there. Remember, if it doesn't come from your body it doesn't belong in the potty.

Do not SCRATCH things into the surfaces of the portos. I have been told that writing on the walls on the inside of the portos brings great amusement to the people that clean them, just do it with marker, DON"T scratch it in. Then they have to sand down the surface and that shortens the life of the porto.

Finally, adopt a porto with the people you are camping near. Make sure it's stocked, check it out, clean it up, and help keep the people of BRC shitting in style.

Hope that is helpful!
edited for spelling

all good advice! In case you missed it...2002? the porta pottie people near gave up on us..were pyramids of shit sticking above the toilet seats. We do have plenty of Porta Potties, but in a drunken stupor...or just realizing you woke up in a desert...can be too far for the job at hand.

[motskyroonmatick]

"Lady J" i think is the official name. there is a camp that provides them.

Ok, my take on the portos:

From what I understand from Robbidobbs we have about 1000, give or take a few, porto potties in BRC. They are pumped often, so until the very end of the week when the population is really exploding, they are pretty decent.

(baring of course, some sparkle pony who took too many substances and literally shits on every wall and surface in the porto...)

Where ever you camp you should be relatively close to a bank of portos. I think they are super smelly, so I would advise camping AWAY from them. A block up or down and upwind is the best.

I TOTALLY agree that a pee bottle and a pee funnel (if you are a lady) are SUPER necissary. The pStyle is the best one BY FAR. CFM, Stitch, and I will sing their praises far and wide!! They have been discontinued, but if you get your butt in gear you should be able to snag one from myworldhut.com.

A few rules for news about using the potties:

This is not a rave, this is not a carnival, BRC is your HOME for the week. SO, PLEASE sit your donkey DOWN on the seat every time you use it. I know its scary, but these portos CAN remain clean ALL WEEK if we treat them with respect. Carry leave no trace into every part of your week. If you refuse to sit, please bring some kind of sanitary wipe to clean off the seat and then HAUL IT AWAY WITH YOU!

Do not put anything but single ply tp and bodily fluids in the portos. If you ACCIDENTALLY drop a flashlight in or a camera or whatever, don't go fishing for them (that's a huge hazardous waste pile, you will likely get VERY sick), leave a note WELL SECURED to the back of the porto in question letting the pump trucks know that there is something that SHOULD NOT BE IN THE POTTY. If you see the trucks coming, simply wait and let them know. They can then correctly remove the waste and not harm their trucks.

Do not dispose of excess grey water in the portos. That is NOT supposed to be in there. Remember, if it doesn't come from your body it doesn't belong in the potty.

Do not SCRATCH things into the surfaces of the portos. I have been told that writing on the walls on the inside of the portos brings great amusement to the people that clean them, just do it with marker, DON"T scratch it in. Then they have to sand down the surface and that shortens the life of the porto.

Finally, adopt a porto with the people you are camping near. Make sure it's stocked, check it out, clean it up, and help keep the people of BRC shitting in style.

Hope that is helpful!
edited for spelling

all good advice! In case you missed it...2002? the porta pottie people near gave up on us..were pyramids of shit sticking above the toilet seats. We do have plenty of Porta Potties, but in a drunken stupor...or just realizing you woke up in a desert...can be too far for the job at hand.

Well done! Well said! Wohoo!

Baby wipes and tampons in the portapotties(JOTS) is the biggest problem for the guys servicing the portapotties. It messes up their processing equipment and makes their job harder They end up with a 30 yard dumpster full of very nasty baby wipes and tampons by the end of the event. Taking a zip lock baggy with you to the JOTS and packing it out when you leave is the thing to do. Double bag it if it makes you feel better.

Hoverers! Plant it! If you can't plant it then at least put the seat up and then back down. Use good technique too so you are not wandering all over the place. Grab the handle on the door(after being sure to lock it) or god forbid put a hand on one of the walls(they get sprayed down with disinfectant every 6 hours as they are serviced in the day time). As a normal user of the toilet seat I really dislike having to clean up after some hoverer and then have a seat thinking.... Their piss is on my ass--their piss is on my ass--their piss is on my ass. Yuck!

Oh and if you come upon a portapotty that is zip tied shut before after or during the event...Use one that is not zip tied shut. It is shut for a reason. Before and after the event it is to limit the number of potties that have to be serviced. During the event it is because there is something in the tank that the normal service truck can not deal with. It is locked so the problem does not get worse and can be dealt with quickly when the service guys return. Don't remove zip ties because you feel it is the right thing to do. The JOTS guys will do it at the appropriate time.

The guys at JOTS camp really appreciate what a good job we participants do with the portapotties. They say it gets better every year and that the baby wipes are now the biggest thing we need to focus on. They say the only people that treat the potties better are construction workers. I think that is fantastic. It is a true testament of the good job done in getting the word out to all the participants. Way to go Burners and way to go Robbidobbs!

Spread the word about excremental correctness at the burn.

[Savannah]

Another great pee funnel is the Freshette. It really helps to practice with it and a two liter bottle/coffee can before you're on the playa, because after sitting down to pee all one's life, standing up to do it can feel so weird that you just think "some other time". (I had the Freshette in 2009, but kept putting it off and never even tried it until 2010.)

It was so nice to finally use a funnel and bottle last year on those nights when it was cold as hell. It also saved me a lot of trips to the JOTS during the week, just in general.

[Lord Of Ruin]

Get a pee jug for your tent that closes up very very tightly. Make sure the opening is wide enough... Label it "pee" so no one mistakes it for some tasty Gatorade or Pedialite. I had a canvas bag to carry it to the potty. This saved me sooo many times when it just wasn't time to leave the tent in the perceived "wee" hours.

Yea, each year in early summer, I slot in a wide mouth fabric softener or bleach one gal. bottle into the home supplies. By the time playa rolls around,it's pretty empty and ready to go.

Fabric softener works well..I rinse out the bottle, but it still has a slight "fresh" odor. Wide mouth, wide handle, very easy to open, even in the dark and when altered. I generally try to find a glow in the dark band and put it around the neck.

It's opaque white, so it's discrete. You will not mistake it for a drinking bottle, either.

[Savannah]

Fabric softener works well..I rinse out the bottle, but it still has a slight "fresh" odor. Wide mouth, wide handle, very easy to open, even in the dark and when altered. I generally try to find a glow in the dark band and put it around the neck.

It's opaque white, so it's discrete. You will not mistake it for a drinking bottle, either.

That's four kinds of smart right there, especially if the bottle is economy-sized. (I don't want to have to empty it more than once a day).

[Sic Pup]

...and the wide mouth is key.

[BBadger]

I remember the first time I went to the porta potty, and being the unobservant sap I was at the time, did my pissing into the sit-down toilet rather than the urinal. Well, as I did I was reading the text on the wall behind the seat:

"Piss in the urinal ASSHOLE!" (with a nice big arrow)

Well that sure learned me.