The Last Lavatories in Britain Are Vanishing!
By Stephen Wilson, one of our reporters abroad
Free public toilets in Britain are set to be a relic of the past if past and present trends continue. According to a survey by Victorian Plumbing (2024) free public toilets are being more and more replaced by paid toilets. Such a grim scenario will further complicate not only the lives of the homeless but the disabled, the sick and the old {see page 9 article “Austerity” issue 1628/12-18 2024, of the Big Issue.}
“Sex is one of the most overrated things and being able to relieve yourself one of the most underestimated,” quipped the witty writer Mark Twain. And it is so true! The problem is that the topic of defecation has never been taken too seriously in Britain and can be trivialized by notorious British humor. Perhaps this at times vulgar humor is partly related to the British feeling embarrassed, awkward and ashamed of discussing this issue seriously so they make jokes. In fact, many subjects connected with bodily functions are still relatively taboo throughout the United Kingdom. For example, menstruation, as well as defecation are just two of the subjects.
Some regard those topics as so obscene that they are almost taboo topics to speak about. It is okay to speak about the weather, politics and religion but forget about defecation. It is as if the British despise and are terrified of the body and its functions. The English writer D.H. Lawrence once wrote, “The mind's terror of the body has probably driven more men mad than ever could be counted. The insanity of a great mind like Swift's is at least partly traceable to this cause. In the poem to his mistress Celia , which has the maddened: 'But - Celia, Celia shits!' We see what can happen to a great mind, when it falls into panic. A great wit like Swift could not see how ridiculous he made himself. Of course, Celia shits! Who doesn't? And how much worse if she didn't' {see page 308 of D.H.Lawrence's A Propos of Lady Chatterley's Lover, London: Penguin Books, republished 1994}.
Judging by the recent record of governments in drastically cutting back free public toilets in Britain you'd be forgiven for thinking the government does not believe people defecate and how worse it would be if they did not defecate. Rather than being a call of nature, it is an obscene act which one should keep silent about.
Fortunately, not everyone wishes to keep silent about the growing dearth in free public toilets. According to Raymond Martin, the managing director of the British Toilet Foundation, half of the U.K.'s toilets have disappeared over the last ten years. They have fallen from 6,087 to 3,990. And the situation is due to get worse. According to a new survey by Victorian Plumbing, many public toilets will be extinct in some cities. If the past and present trends continue there will be no more public toilets in Newcastle by 2028 and none in Glasgow by 2077.
The causes of the closure of public toilets are largely government cutbacks where local governments have been starved of funds to keep them open. However, many public toilets which remained unmanned during the Covid 19 crisis were never reopened. There is also no law in the United Kingdom where local authorities are legally obliged to provide free public toilets. Although the local authorities have to legally ensure rubbish collection they don't have to provide free local toilets.
The repercussions of a lack of public toilets should be taken seriously. access to public toilets, cities are more exposed to a lack of sanitation which leads to the spread of infection and thus epidemics. Less public toilets means less hand washing, less sanitation and a increased risk of pathogens. You'd have thought governments would be attempting to contain the spread of epidemics after the Covid 19 crisis!
Not having access to a public toilet is highly inconvenient for many people who suffer from diabetes, prostrate or bowel conditions and disabilities. Many people adopt all kinds of precautions to avoid going out because they can't find a toilet. A survey found as many as 56% of those questioned stated they intentionally restrict fluid intake before they venture out. But this is not a good idea. For deliberate dehydration can lead to dizziness and renal stones.
Finding a free public toilet in a city can be daunting. In Glasgow a common method was to drop in and out of pubs. But pubs erected notices saying, “Our toilets are for customers only.” You can try restaurants, but you can find their toilet doors locked. So people are forced to do the toilets behind a tree if there are any trees left in the city.
For homeless people free public toilets represent a necessity. It is one of the few places they can not only do the toilet but wash themselves so they can become more presentable. One of the things people hold against the homeless is they smell badly. Well if people don't like how people smell badly why close down free toilets and discourage free washing and laundry facilities? It is strange that an accessible toilet, bathroom and laundry service are deemed luxuries! People demand, “You clean yourself.” But then insist you also pay for it!
So which is more important--public health and hygiene or making money? What is a natural and normal bodily function has often been reduced to a complicated marathon feat. One often has to run like hell to find a toilet before it's too late! And someone once defined hell as “too late!”
We have to continue a relentless campaign to not only keep free public toilets open but to greatly expand them. We cannot afford not to have free public toilets. This is an imperative and urgent medical necessity!