‘Men and women’ urinal passes test

Public urinals which can be used by both men and women standing up could soon be installed in 140 towns after a successful trial in Bayonne.

The toilets have a dispenser of free single-use urinette funnels for women so they do not have to undress.

The Ti’Pi toilet does not use water and, with no water charges to pay, the mairie funded the cost of the urinettes and still won financially, said Jérome Clausse, of creators VesBatEco.

Bayonne will continue using the unit and around 140 other towns have expressed interest.

Mr Clausse said the firm was now fine-tuning a system of mobile urinals on trailers for use at festivals and other gatherings. There would be separate trailers for men and women “It is an alternative to chemical toilets which are bad for the environment and soon start to smell and look terrible,” he said.

The system does not need a sewer link as a flexible 1,000litre reservoir, enough for the daily needs of 3,000 people, can easily be emptied by pump into a tanker for disposal.