Scotland's parks call for guidance on safe reopening of public toilets

Scotland’s national parks are demanding urgent guidance on reopening public toilets safely and consistently, after weekend reports of local residents near beaches and beauty spots discovering human excrement left by daytrippers.

The World Health Organization has acknowledged the limitations of conventional public toilet design in the coronavirus era, issuing guidance on handwashing that recommends using a paper towel to turn off taps.

“The problem is the same across the UK,” said Raymond Martin, of the British Toilet Association. “A few councils have reopened their toilets for the bank holiday weekends, but many are waiting for government guidance. Meanwhile, you have people defecating all over the place.”

Traditional toilet blocks will require significant reconfiguring to allow for more frequent cleaning and physical distancing. There are plenty of creative – and often expensive – solutions available, including queuing systems, privacy boards between urinals, foot-button flushing, more space for hand basins in cubicles, sensor taps and self-cleaning interiors.

But as national parks, councils, bars and restaurants across Scotland prepare to reopen some outdoor facilities in a second phase of easing lockdown, possibly later this month, there are calls for speedier fixes.

James Fraser, the chair of Friends of Loch Lomond and the Trossachs, the closest national park to Glasgow, said: “People are here in volume in the countryside already. We need practical solutions and they need to be ready soon.”

Fraser suggested a short-term solution could be provision of well-maintained portable toilets at popular locations, which would allow for upgrading of toilet buildings over the autumn and winter.

Companies that supply outdoor toilets in Scotland already report an increase in interest from places such as lorry parks and construction sites, making up to some extent for the interruption of their usual seasonal wedding and festival work.

Grant Moir, the chief executive of the Cairngorns National Park Authority, described toilets as “number one on the list of issues to resolve”, adding that more information on the safe use of temporary toilets was needed.

“People are still touching the same handle to get in and out … there’s a lot to get right, and what we need now is guidance so that everyone knows how to keep both employees and the public safe and so that we are being consistent, and we want to have that in hand before further easing happens,” he said.

With discussions continuing between national parks, councils and the Scottish government, local agencies are conscious extra cleaning and redesign will demand significant resources. Visit Scotland has recently been administering grants for rural tourism infrastructure, much of which has gone to building toilet facilities in areas of high demand, such as Skye or along the North Coast 500 driving route.

While local concerns about ad hoc evacuations across the countryside are understandable, Raymond Martin argues that the reopening of public toilets is as much about wellbeing and social inclusion as waste management.

The lockdown is particularly hard on people with health conditions such as Crohn’s disease and colitis, who require access to toilets more regularly and sometimes at short notice, as well as for families with small children.

The need for repurposed toilets will become more pressing again if, as predicted, millions of Britons remain in the UK for staycations this summer

“The numbers coming out of lockdown are one thing, but what happens when you have everyone holidaying in the UK over the summer? Facilities have to be ready by then,” Martin said.