① Amsterdam’s Struggle with Public Urination
Amsterdam, Netherlands, is a city infamous for public urination. It’s a popular European tourist destination, attracting 7 million visitors annually. The influx of tourists has led to various issues, including littering, street drinking, and public urination, causing headaches for the city.
Residents’ resentment has grown due to overtourism. The city even launched a campaign called ‘Enjoy & Respect,’ focusing on noise, public drunkenness, littering, and public urination as the main issues.
In the past, Amsterdam made headlines when it was revealed that 66 people were urinating in public every hour. The city was notorious for the smell of urine in its streets.
To maintain public order, Amsterdam imposed hefty fines: public drinking carried a fine of 95 euros (approximately $108) while littering and public urination cost offenders 140 euros (approximately $159). Despite these fines, the problem of public urination remained unresolved.
In European cities, including Amsterdam, most public restrooms are fee-based. The lack of free restrooms has exacerbated the problem of public urination.
People urinated anywhere, causing historic building exteriors to rust due to urine exposure. There were even incidents of individuals drowning in canals after slipping while urinating. Within Amsterdam, there were increasing calls to address public urination actively.
② ‘Green Pee’ Installed on Amsterdam Streets
To address the issue of public urination, Amsterdam installed unique urinals on its streets. Although the urinals initially appeared strange, they soon became a hot topic due to their innovative design. At first glance, they looked like ordinary flower pots or trash cans, but the bottom was shaped like a U-shaped urinal. These urinals, named ‘Green Pee,’ meaning ‘eco-friendly urine,’ have plants planted on top. When people urinate here, the urine mixes with hemp fibers to create natural fertilizer. This natural fertilizer, rich in phosphates, is used to greenen nearby parks.
The Green Pee utilizes technology to convert urine into clean water and fertilizer. It has features that help the plant grow by itself. It also contains an ammonia blocker to eliminate odor. There’s no need to connect it to a sewage system, so there’s no worry about pollution.
After introducing the eco-friendly urinals for a trial period, public urination decreased by 50%. Amsterdam first introduced the Green Pee in major tourist areas in 2018. As they proved effective in addressing the issue of public urination, the city installed more Green Pee units throughout the city center.
The developer of Green Pee, Mr. de Bruijn, said, “Green Pee not only solves the problem of public urination but also allows us to use urine, a pollutant, for new purposes.” He further revealed that they are researching ways to use urine as an energy source, not just as fertilizer.
Green Pee units have been installed not only in Amsterdam but also in Flanders and Veere. They’ve also been installed in Mechelen and Genk, cities in Belgium.
③ The Issue Also Emerges in Paris, France
Public urination has also emerged as a major issue in Paris, France. Urinals were installed near landmarks like Notre Dame Cathedral to reduce public urination. These urinals are filled with straw to prevent odor, similar to the Green Pee in the Netherlands.
However, Parisians protested against the installation of these urinals. They argued that having urinals on the streets of Paris was unacceptable, especially for the residents of the areas where the urinals were installed. They protested, “Do we have to see people urinating right in front of our houses?”. There were also claims that the public urinals were gender-discriminatory.
Meanwhile, Paris is replacing its public toilets in preparation for next year’s Olympics. Paris has 435 public toilet booths, which have been free since 2006. One person can use them at a time, and once the user exits and closes the door, the floor and toilet are automatically cleaned and dried.
With a significant increase in visitors expected, Paris announced that it would replace the toilet booths with a new model to reduce usage time. The cleaning time will be reduced by two-thirds compared to the existing booths, reducing the waiting time for users.
By. Seo Sung Min
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