Too few public toilets in NL; Only a third of municipalities doing something

The Netherlands still has far too few public toilets, but the subject is at least on the agenda of more and more municipalities. About a third of city councils paid attention to public toilets, discussing them, accepting proposals about increasing their number, or even setting money aside to improve the public toilet situation in the municipality, the Tiolet Alliance said on Thursday.

The Tiolet Alliance, which consists of various patient organizations including the Stomach, Liver, Intestines Foundation, called that "a significant improvement" but added that "two-thirds of the municipal councils have not yet taken any action." The alliance aims to have a "public, accessible, and clean" toilet every 500 meters in residential areas, every 5 kilometers on hiking routes, and every 25 kilometers on cycling routes.

On its website, the Tiolet Alliance published a map of the municipalities with color codes for their public toilet policy ranging from dark green (implemented policy and/or made money available) to red (no policy or action taken).

Fourteen municipalities got a dark green status for establishing policy and often making money available for public toilets. These include Amsterdam, Utrecht, Rotterdam, Purmerend, Weert, and Roosendaal. Another 65 have passed motions on the topic, giving them yellow status.

But the vast majority of municipalities are still red, not having any policy or taking any action to increase their number of public toilets, as far as the alliance can tell. "The work is not finished yet," the Toilet Alliance said.

The alliance's map is based on public information, news reports, and its own contact with municipalities.