Campaign raises stink over shortage of public toilets in Brussels

Imagine if you were out in public, at the Brussels Christmas market for example, and the biting cold and glühwein did their bit, and you had to go to the toilet, but there was a queue of 10,000 people in front of you. Wouldn’t that be frustrating?

Well, that actually is the case, according to the youth wing of Christian democrats CD&V, which points out in a new campaign that Brussels has only one public toilet for every 10,000 people. The group compares that to Paris, which has one toilet per 450 residents.

The Free Pipi campaign arrived last week in the vicinity of Sint-Katelijneplein, with rubbish bins decorated with a toilet seat bearing the #freepipi hashtag. At the centre of the campaign is an idea imported from Germany: Pay businesses like bars and restaurants a sum of money to brandish a sticker in their windows announcing their toilets can be used free of charge.

This would lead to hundreds more public toilets, without needing to construct a single one. According to the website CityLab, German cities have saved some serious money: Bremen claims to save €1 million a year for an outlay of €168,000 – a little less than €0.34 per resident per year. A small price to pay for guaranteed relief wherever you go.

Photo: Jong CD&V/Twitter