DES MOINES, Iowa — 2020 has hit everyone hard; and when we say everyone, we mean everyone.
The portable toilet industry has taken some big blows over the last several months, ranging from a global pandemic shutting the world down to a freak storm that scattered porta-potties across several Iowa counties.
And in one Adel neighborhood, it sent a particular toilet flying down the street.
This particular potty belongs to Best Portable Toilets, a Des Moines-based company owned by Mary Henss. After renting one of her toilets out to an Adel neighborhood for a socially-distanced block party, next thing she knew, the toilet was taking off.
"It was hitting cars," said Henss. "It was also banging into [neighbors'] cars and homes."
Finally, a man chasing after it tied it to a car to keep it stable. To Henss, the whole situation epitomized the year 2020.
She says August's derecho was just another blow in a year that had already flushed revenue down the drain.
Henns says her business depends on big events. Each year, she serves the Drake Relays and the Des Moines IMT Marathon. But the pandemic forced the events to close, which means they have to say goodbye to the funds those bring in.
"The huge amount of special events that are gone for us... that's a big amount of money."
Then came the derecho, which laid another hit.
"We probably had about 200 tip-overs," Henns said. "So to clean that, that's terrible."
And that's only including the toilets that had the courtesy to tip over where they're supposed to be; others ended up in different places altogether.
"We had to find them," Henns said. "We had people call us that said 'hey, this is so-and-so. I have one of your portable toilets in my yard.'"
That was felt by other porta-potty companies too. In fact, Port O Jonny in eastern Iowa had their toilets scattered through five different counties.
"For 30 days, we did nothing but try to retrieve equipment," owner Paula Freeman-Brown said.
According to Freeman-Brown, 80 of their units are totaled, and about 40 more are still missing. Overall, after speaking with several insurance adjusters, she estimates the damages to be worth around $250,000.
"We’ve gone from anticipating this really strong year to struggling to keep our heads above water," Freeman-Brown said.
The business of doing your business may not be at the front of your mind a lot of the time. But for some, it's their livelihood.
"I get that it’s not pleasant, but it is how we make our living and we have to take care of it," Freeman-Brown said.
And at this point, all they have to look forward to is the end of this crappy year, and the hope that the next one will bring more business.
"Hopefully next year's better," Henns said.