A waste removal company is pleading with the public not to urinate in litter bins. It is also calling for more public toilets in town and city centres.
Divert.co.uk, a waste removal service that aims to make sure as little as possible ends up in landfill, says the act is a health hazard, not least to refuse collectors. It puts the majority of the blame on drunken late-night revellers, but also partially on the lack of public toilets in town and city centres all over the country.
“Public urination is a scourge that ruins many a Friday and Saturday night out, but also the Saturday and Sunday mornings of the people who have to clear it up,” said Divert.co.uk spokesperson Mark Hall. We estimate that one in four bins has pee on or in it come Sunday morning.
“This needs a two-way fix – more public loos for nights out, and a change in people’s behaviour.”
On any given weekend night, town centres are filled with well-lubricated revellers, looking for any one of three or more things: something to eat, a taxi or bus home - and a toilet.
The company said doorways and alleyways can be hosed down, but dealing with a bin that contains human urine was "not pleasant". It said it was a hazard to public health and most of all it is a genuine hazard for refuse collectors.
The company continued: "That’s why Divert wants easy, cost effective solutions, such as those used in European cities known to be party locations. With far fewer public toilets available due to budget squeezes, and the impracticality of keeping them open late at night where they might be misused by undesirable elements, Amsterdam, for example, drops portable urinals at key locations in the city centre on weekend evenings, and collects them again first thing the next morning.
"Portable urinals in town centres are a rare sight in the UK – they were tried in some locations but were largely withdrawn for various reasons. You’re more likely to see TARDIS-like portable toilets instead, which are unsightly and very unpopular with people who take pride in how their town centre looks.
"And with the invention of an effective pop-up female urinal this year, it’s possible there may be 'peequality' in town centres after closing time. But before that all happens, we need a big change in people’s behaviour on nights out. And that’s the tricky task of stopping public urination at source."
Mark Hall has this appeal for late night revellers: “Please don’t pee in rubbish bins, in the street, or shop doorways. You’re grown-ups, at least try to behave like one. As my mum used to say before a long car journey: Tie a knot in it if you have to.”
