Portland flushes outdoor toilet business
Published 12:56 pm Thursday, July 31, 2014
PORTLAND, Ore. — The city of Portland is out of the business of selling outdoor potties, but it will still get a cut of the revenue from the solar-powered bathrooms city workers developed.
In six years, the city has installed seven of the stainless steel public toilets dubbed the Portland Loo.
It also thought to make a business of selling them, at $90,000 each. It has sold four, with more orders in the works.
But the Loo and other projects were criticized as outside the city Water Bureau’s core mission and a contributor to rising rates. A judge found the city misspent $618,000 of bureau funds on it.
The Oregonian reports the city has now agreed to allow the toilet’s manufacturer to price and market the toilets, giving the city a royalty.
