By Rachel Morton
One of the busiest and most unpleasant jobs in Christchurch has to be emptying the hundreds of portaloos moved in since the quake.
It is not the most glamorous job in Christchurch but Phil Nielson is happy to deal with the smell so people do not have to dig a hole in the back yard.
“Well, yeah, I’m used to it now. It's part of just doing what you gotta do. And I mean if you're helping people out then you've just got to put up with the smell don't you,” he says.
The computer system is not working at his office so Mr Nielson is travelling around the city using his memory to find portaloos which need emptying.
“A toilet's all right if you get there every day, but if you can't for a few days it gets a bit, argh, you know…”
And when it gets a bit, you know, people tend to take their frustration out on him.
“We do get a bit of abuse, yeah,” he says. “Sometimes I think I should just walk away but then it's the little old ladies that you like helping, you know.”
One problem Mr Nielson has come across is people putting plastic bags of waste in the toilets. It takes him up to an hour to clear those blockages, which he has to do by hand.
“When they've been full of rubbish bags and stuff like that, those are the days when you want to give up. Then some little old lady says thank you because she's not doing it on a paint bucket, and then that makes up for it.”
And yes, Mr Nielson says the film Kenny – about a man who delivers portaloos – is one of his favourite movies.
“We do watch that just to get motivation, you know, and keep ourselves going,” he says.
But Mr Nielson says he won't give up as long as he gets the occasional thank you.
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