Gelderland town West Maas en Waal has most public toilets

Those who often have to go to the toilet are best off in the Gelderland municipality of West Maas en Waal. The municipality has the most public restrooms. It dethroned Veere, which was last year’s best place for people in dire need and is now in third place. In second place this year is Amersfoort, which was recently also awarded the European City of the Year.

Stomach, liver and intestinal health foundation MLDS conducts annual research into options for using the toilet outside the home, paid or free, in a partnership with the organization behind the HogeNood toilet-finder app. They do this to draw attention to the one in four Netherlands residents who, according to them, hesitate to go out due to the toilet shortage. Their data is based on the toilets you can find on the app.

Although Steenbergen in Noord-Brabant did not reach the top, it is improving the fastest of all municipalities. It climbed 300 places to 28th place. Across the board, the availability of toilets is improving slightly. The researchers gave “toilet friendliness” a 4.7 this year, after last year’s 4.5.

The number of toilets you can now find on the HogeNood app has risen to 8,300. “The increase is mainly the result of more local policy, more municipalities that are partners in the HogeNood app, and better compliance with the toilet standard: every 500 meters a toilet in city and village centers,” said Leonie Klabbers, deputy director of the MLDS.

However, it is mainly the result of a few municipalities that do a lot, while “far too many municipalities fail to” address their shortcomings, she said. A 4.7 is still a failing score, she stressed.

Klabbers said that one in three people experience a poorer quality of life due to the lack of easily accessible toilets. The Netherlands sometimes contrasts sharply with other places. “For example, in Paris, there are 750 public toilets for two million people. The Netherlands has 700 for 18 million. Of these, 220 are urinals, and only 176 are wheelchair accessible,” Klabbers said.