Public toilets

[CathyandHeathcliff]

Ironically demands for public toilets arose against the backdrop of a desire for better sanitation, which resulted in legislation being passed by Parliament in the form of two public health acts. The first Public Health Act of 1848 and the Second Public Health Act of 1875. The 1848 act was passed in the wake of a cholera outbreak that killed 52,000 people. We may end up with cholera again at this rate and the deaths from it exceeding the covid deaths.

People are urinating and defecating wherever they can, and what choice do they have?
This is surely discriminatory towards those with certain medical problems, the disabled, elderly, young children, babies who need changing, pregnant women, women with heavy periods and the list goes on...

Shops are now open, but not toilets...I went to a garden centre yesterday, everything open, except the toilets!

There are two places I’ve found with toilets open, one Morrison’s and one a local stately home with park/grounds attached.

I’m actually starting to dread going out because of this!

I agree that all public toilets should be open. That they aren’t is discriminatory to some of us and as you say, it has the potential to actually cause a further public health hazard.

I have had regular IBS throughout my adult life, often exacerbated by another medical condition that I have. I dread going out if toilets are not readily accessible.

Fortunately in our small town the local public toilets reopened after about the first couple of weeks of lockdown. Common sense prevailed. Tesco in the next town have theirs open too.

Some Radar key operated toilets are open at least, but I worry about how clean they’ll be.

There's a new app to find loos. Lockdown loos

I've had to use some recently. Wasn't that bad.

Couldn't agree more. It's absolutely shocking. I suffer from anxiety and IBS - quite often one will set off the other - and I haven't dared venture out further afield than my local supermarket because of the uncertainty about which public toilets are open.

For me it's simple, if you want people to start using public places like town centres then provide the basic public facilities that they need.

I'm aghast at the people shitting in people's gardens or behind beach huts or in other random places but really what choice have they been given? It's either that or stay at home and after all this time people are desperate to get out.

It's disgraceful and a health hazard in itself.

People are urinating and defecating wherever they can, and what choice do they have?
The choice is to not go to places with no loos. Ring ahead and ask if the toilets are open and if not then go somewhere else.. And while I don't think it's fair on disabled people etc, the majority of the stories seem to just be people who havent planned ahead to check if loos would be open and then eete caught short - which is at least partly their own fault.

Would rather not go out than urinate or defecate in a public place how grim.

I work in a retail store and the reason why the normal toilets aren’t open is because they have to be cleaned after every use. Our baby change facilities are open though, which is one room and that gets cleaned after every use too.

I think in some cases the sheer volume of people flocking to certain places means they queues for limited public facilities would be ridiculous too. I personally would rather stay at home than face that but I have issues that make me extremely wary about finding the nearest toilets even before this madness. Other people wouldn't give it a thought until they get the urge to go.

I don't agree with keeping toilets in retail stores shut. Many people will be going there expecting the facilities to be open. While I don't think there's a law to have a toilet in a retail store (unless the cafe is open I believe?) it's still really unfair and could cause a lot of embarrassment and panic for someone who went there expecting it to be open.