How many portable toilets does an event need?

Too few toilets is the complaint guests remember. The South African standard for event safety, SANS 10366, gives a starting point, and the right number for your event works outward from there.

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The SANS 10366 guideline

SANS 10366, Health and safety at events, gives general guidelines for the number of toilets at a music event, based on how long the gates are open:

• Gates open 6 hours or more: 1 toilet per 100 women, and 1 toilet per 500 men plus 1 urinal per 150 men
• Gates open less than 6 hours: 1 toilet per 120 women, and 1 toilet per 600 men plus 1 urinal per 175 men
• Guests with disabilities: 1 accessible toilet with hand washing per 75

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A worked example

Take an event of 2,000 people, half women and half men, with the gates open for eight hours. The guideline gives 10 toilets for the women (1 per 100), and for the men 2 toilets (1 per 500) and 7 urinals (1 per 150, rounded up). If you would rather not split units by sex or use urinals, plan on more toilets, not fewer.

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When to go higher

The standard itself says its figures may be too high for short, off-peak events and too low where people drink a lot or camp. Go above the guideline when:

• Alcohol is served, or it is hot and people are drinking a lot of water
• Guests are camping or staying overnight
• Most people arrive or leave at once, or there is a long interval
• The site is spread out, so a single bank of units is a long walk for many guests

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Check the local rules

The Safety at Sports and Recreational Events Act requires an event's safety plan to cover ablution facilities, and the municipality may set its own requirements when it approves the event. Ekurhuleni's events policy, for example, asks for one toilet per hundred people. Check with the municipality and the venue before you settle on a number.

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Placement and servicing

Put units where guests already walk, on ground a service vehicle can reach, with hand washing at every bank and lighting if the event runs after dark. For an event that runs for more than a day, agree the servicing up front.

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Get a quote

We hire out mobile toilets for events as well as construction sites. Tell us the expected headcount, the split between men and women if you know it, the dates and the gate times, and we will quote the units your event needs.