Portable restroom contractor Lynn Boyett is thankful for work in a down economy, but he wishes the Gulf oil spill isn’t what triggered newfound revenue these days. Boyett has placed about 175 PolyJohn Bravo hand-wash units along the beaches of Escambia County, surrounding his hometown Pensacola, Fla. Boyett’s Septic Tank & Vacuum Pumping has served the Gulf Coast for more than 50 years.
“I thank God for the work; we definitely need the work, but I wish we didn’t get it in this manner,’’ Boyett says. “At the same time, we’re doing it the way we’ve always done it, an honest day’s job for an honest day’s pay.’’
The work has come to Boyett’s over the past few weeks, and he is expecting more calls for sinks along beaches in the company’s more than 100-mile service territory. Many of the units are placed at parking areas near pedestrian bridges that reach beach areas. The company is providing seven-day-a-week service to clean and replenish the sinks. The placements have received media attention this week in news reports like this one:
http://www.weartv.com/newsroom/features/coastal-crisis/videos/vid_665.shtml?sms_ss=email
PolyJohn East Area Manager Steve Baie, based in Florida, says demand for hand-wash stations has been on the rise. He said that the placements are running one sink to every two restroom units in the affected areas, a far bigger sink-to-restroom ratio than other construction or special event uses. Baie agrees with Boyett that contractors who live and work in the Gulf region would prefer there was another reason for the uptick in business.
“It’s a little bit of a shot in the arm for the economy, but it’s not something anyone is excited about,’’ Baie says.
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