I can’t help but notice portable restrooms everywhere I go. I often see rows of units placed in the shadows of Lambeau Field – a few miles from my house – where they are set up for fans at a Green Bay Packers game. I also snap photos of restrooms when I see them in far-flung locales while I’m on vacation.
Sometimes you’ll see portable restrooms in the darndest spots, from up in the air on high-rise construction projects to lining the beaches of Florida during spring break. As these plastic boxes of convenience turn up more and more, you’ll see them on television shows, in video games, and featured in films, like the latest Jackass movie, where a PolyJohn Enterprises unit was used in a bungee-jumping stunt.
With that in mind, we’re launching a new lighthearted feature in PRO, and I hope you’ll join me in the fun. This is the first installment of “Where in the World is This Restroom?’’
WIN A PRIZE
I shot these restroom photos in the same city. If you are the first reader to identify the city and all three landmarks where the restrooms were found, you’ll win a much-coveted collector’s item, a genuine PRO T-shirt, sent directly to you from the prize vault at COLE Publishing.
The caption for each photo contains a clue to its location. You might determine the city where the photos were taken first, then follow clues you see in the photos to figure out the precise location where each of these units was placed. I am confident many of you have spent time at each of the spots where these units were dropped.
So what do you do when you have all the answers? Shoot me an email at editor@promonthly.com and tell me the city and three landmarks where the photos were taken. When I get a correct response, I will post it on my editor’s blog at www.promonthly.com and name the winner.
I know this is a big challenge, and there can only be one winner. So, you might wonder, “Is there another way I can win one of those awesome T-shirts?’’ Yes, there is.
All you have to do is send in your own mystery restroom photos, which we’ll feature in a future issue of PRO. Whether they’re in your own hometown or found on an exotic vacation halfway around the world, we need your restroom photos to continue the contest. If we publish your photos and clues in the magazine, we’ll send you a PRO T-shirt. Just like the contest answers, you can send photos to me at editor@promonthly.com.
ANOTHER RESTROOM GAME
When you pass a construction unit on the side of the highway, can you identify the manufacturer through a subtle thermoformed line in the colorful polyethylene side or door? Me too, and it’s a skill that impresses the youngsters. I can tell you from experience that nothing makes a teenage son more proud of his father than having Dad point and yell “Satellite Tufway!’’ as the family walks down a crowded thoroughfare.
Well, the kids may tell you they like to peel off and walk on the other side of the road when I start identifying portable restrooms. But I know deep down they appreciate that this is one of the unusual skills their parent has that helps put dinner on the table every night.
Keeping an eye out for restrooms turns every vacation into a busman’s holiday. That comes with the territory of serving this great industry. The scrapbook of my vacation photos is sprinkled with shots of portable restrooms, and I bet yours is too. When you download photos from your next family vacation, please share some of the restroom shots with the rest of us.
BACK FROM THE EXPO
If you attended the 2012 Pumper & Cleaner Environmental Expo International, you’ve been back home for about a month and taking advantage of all you learned at Education Day seminars or on the exhibit floor. Like every year, exhibitors showcased many new products to make your work go more efficiently in the upcoming busy season.
The trouble with Expo information overload is that you might not recall all of the timesaving and service-enhancing products you saw at the Indiana Convention Center. Or, if you didn’t attend the Expo this year, you don’t know what you missed. Don’t worry. We’ve got you covered.
We know how important it is to stay current with new trends and technology in the portable sanitation industry, so we’ll recap the highlights of Expo new products in this issue of PRO. Turn inside to see the latest and greatest products introduced at the Expo.
We wore out a lot of shoe leather checking in with the exhibitors’ booths and documenting the best the industry has to offer. Hopefully this review will reinforce the importance of the biggest trade show in the wastewater industry. If you attended this year, we hope to see you back next year. If you missed the Expo, we encourage you to join your industry colleagues in Indy next year.
