The mystery of the vanishing toilets

Around the world, free public toilets are becoming scarcer, but why? There’s no denying the obvious need (especially for the most vulnerable) and the greater good they hold for public health and clean streets – so their disappearance is a big concern for citizens and local authorities alike.

What are the problems for local government?

Unfortunately, the bottom line is usually a lack of finance to create new facilities and maintain the upkeep of existing ones. However, there’s also a cost for not providing toilets, like cleaning up street fouling and isolating vulnerable groups from public spaces.

Another burden to provisions is antisocial behaviour, such as vandalism and misuse, which contributes to a trade-off between keeping the facilities open as much as possible while also trying to protect them from negative behaviours. This may result in reduced open hours or even unavoidable closures for restoration – which comes full circle with additional costs through any maintenance, repairs, cleaning and supervision needed.

What are the solutions?

Community Toilet Schemes are one way that local authorities are overcoming some of the problems highlighted. These schemes usually involve councils paying cafes, restaurants, local pubs and shops to open their toilets for general public use. In return, the businesses will usually be required to display prominent signage, be listed online and have regular facility inspections.

The downside is access is restricted to business hours, so they cannot be solely relied upon. Plus, rural and parkland areas also require public toilet access. To address this, some councils have implemented small access fee charges as a way to leave them unattended and also assist in funding the upkeep costs.

It’s worth highlighting that access to public toilets is also partly about knowing where they are available, a problem that can only be resolved with better communication and information sharing. In response, some councils have implemented a ‘public toilets location awareness strategy’ which is definitely one of the cheaper ways to address the problem.

Other recommendations to improve public toilet access include requesting transportation networks to extend facility access to the wider public or putting direct requirements on local authorities to create a tailored toilet access strategy that addresses their specific populations’ needs.

Whatever the answer, it is clear that there is a significant role for local authorities to play in solving the mystery of the vanishing toilets. Some solutions may be spearheaded by external organisations but local government has a vital role in ensuring that everyone has adequate provisions that enable them to venture beyond their front doors confidently.